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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044467">You know what happens to traitors, dont you?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolinePlayingPuppet/pseuds/ViolinePlayingPuppet'>ViolinePlayingPuppet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Big Brother Schlatt / Dad Schlatt, Blood and Violence, But thats okay Schlatt is there, Dream Smp, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Like Wilbur has genuinly gone insane, Like batshit crazy, Lots of Crying, Manipulation, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Post-Election Arc, Tommy Innit needs a hug, Tommy doesn't deserve this, Trauma, Villain Wilbur Soot, Well more like night TERRORS, no-hope-left-for-him crazy, not beta read we die like men, probably no more tags because spoilers for later chapters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:14:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044467</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolinePlayingPuppet/pseuds/ViolinePlayingPuppet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Wilbur goes crazy, he begins to become paranoid that everyone wants to betray him. Even Tommy.<br/>In an attempt to stop Tommy from backstabbing him too, he becomes violent with him to fear him into loyalty.</p><p>When Wilbur finds out he's been talking to Tubbo behind his back, he tries his violent methods again. Tommy slips from his grasp heavily injured and runs towards Manburg where he falls into the arms of none other than Schlatt, begging him for help.</p><p>If any of the creators mentioned in this story are uncomfortable with it, it will be removed immedietly.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>566</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2229</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fear makes soldiers obedient</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy was working in the ravine of Pogtopia, when Wilbur finally returned. He hadn’t a clue as to where Wilbur had gone off to before, but the man refused to tell him a lot of things now. It was clear he didn’t trust his right hand man anymore. Tommy knew that all too well, so he didn’t bother asking him for any details again. He’d already been told off a couple times before.</p><p>Tommy hadn’t seen him come in, only heard the heavy, fast paced footsteps that echoed along the stone walls. The blonde didn’t turn to look. The footsteps for too distinct for him not to know who was descending the stairs. Tommy didn’t want to look at Wilbur. The man quite frankly scared him. He’d gotten a little violent as of recently and the purple mark on Tommy’s neck reminded him not to piss of Wilbur any more.</p><p>He just continued on his work before he noticed the footsteps coming closer and closer until a presence loomed behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks, to afraid to continue and too afraid to turn around. <em>What had he done now? Was he mining in a place that didn’t fit his </em><em>mentor</em><em>s liking? How could he make it up to him?</em></p><p>Questions raced through the boys mind until a calm yet menacing voice cut through the silence. “You spoke with Tubbo, didn’t you Tommy?” The hairs on his neck stood on end as he refused to turn around to look his elder in the eyes. “I...”, he croaked out, before Wilbur grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging painfully into his skin, and spun the blonde around to face him.</p><p>“You spoke to him, didn’t you Tommy!”, he spit in disgust, his voice a lot louder now. His face was contorted in anger and hatred as he held Tommy by his shoulders, staring him in the eyes. Tommy’s mouth flapped open and closed a couple times, unable to make a sound, let alone find an answer to the question.</p><p>“What did I tell you about Tubbo, Tommy?” Wilbur growled through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on the boy before him. Tommy couldn’t answer.</p><p>“WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TUBBO, TOMMY?” he screamed, roughly shaking Tommy until he finally croaked out “Not to talk to him!”</p><p>“And what did you do, Tommy?” Wilbur didn’t even give him time to reply, before he began to yell once more. ”You spoke to him! That traitor!”</p><p>Tommy fought to hold back the tears that we’re starting to form in his eyes. His arms hurt from Wilbur’s strong grip and his head was dizzy from being shaken. The man finally let go, making him breathe an internal sigh of relief, before he instead picked him up by the collar of his shirt, slamming the blonde into the wall behind him.</p><p>Wilbur took an sniff in Tommy’s direction and continued in his angry, yet calm tone once more. “You smell like betrayal, Tommy.” He glared at Tommy, with half lidded eyes, his frown pulling deeper and deeper. “You wouldn’t betray me, would you?”</p><p>“N-No! Of course not Wilbur!”, he replied in a voice full of fear.</p><p>The older man just stared, for a couple of second, before he brought his mouth up to Tommy’s ear, humming in a low tone. “You know what happens to traitors, don’t you?”</p><p>Before he could reply, Tommy felt the tip of a blade being pushed against his stomach, drawing a few drops of blood. His eyes widened in fear as he began to hyperventilate, struggling against Wilbur’s grip. But Wilbur was a lot stronger and pushed the blade further as he continued “I think I need to teach you a lesson, Tommy.”</p><p>With that he thrust the blade forward, piercing the boy. He screamed in agony, his hands gripping at the sword, trying to tear it away, yet only cutting his hands in the process. “You’ll learn soon enough not to disobey me again.”, Wilbur spoke, completely void of all emotion.</p><p>He twisted the blade, gaining another pain filled shriek from his victim, a dirty smile spreading across his face. Tommy cried out in agony, his thoughts flashing rapidly, trying to come up with a way to escape, when the idea finally came to him. He reached behind his back frantically fumbling in his back pocket. The second he held the item he was looking for in his hands he aimed for the stairs to the exit and hurled the enderpearl upwards.</p><p>A second later he found himself slamming into the cobblestone steps. His fall hurt, but not nearly as much as the stabbing pain where the sword has pierced him. Without a second to spare he scrambled to his feet and up the stairs towards the exit.</p><p>Wilbur’s angry shouts and demands for Tommy to come back fell on deafened ears as he dug away the dirt and sprinted into the woods, clutching at his wound.</p><p>Blood dripped from his hands and ran down his body as he stumbled through the woods as fast as he could. <em>Where to go? Manburg? But I’m exiled. Better than here! Maybe to Tubbo! Just gotta reach Manburg.</em></p><p>No matter how much of a head start he’d had, Tommy knew Wilbur would catch up to him eventually. So he ran. The fear of being caught being the only thing keeping him from slowing down. He tripped on roots and got smacked by low hanging branches. His hands were covered in a mixture of dirt and blood, his pants were torn around his knees, which weren’t in a much better condition. Every, scrape and wound burned. His legs ached and his head was throbbing from the blood loss, but he couldn’t stop. Otherwise Wilbur would catch up to him.</p><p>Tommy could hear him, somewhere far behind, screaming his name. Swearing and threatening him. Knowing that he wasn’t too close to catching up, relieved the runner slightly, however he knew Wilbur could find him indefinitely through his trail of blood, so stopping wasn’t an option. So he continued to run and run and run until he spotted the edge of the forest leading out into Manburg.</p><p>He broke free of the treeline, the sudden sunlight blinding him. He spotted a figure in the distance. Through blurry eyes he couldn’t tell who it was, but at this point it didn’t matter, because Wilbur’s angry screams, forced him to make a choice he hoped he’d never have to make. <em>Better to be imprisoned by whoever that was, than to stay with Wilbur even a minute longer.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the first fic I've ever published on this site and I tried my best. I really hope you guys enjoy it :3<br/>Leave me some feedback and if you find any mistakes let me know.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The enemy of your enemy is your friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy begs Schlatt for help and Wilbur is unhinged.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Schlatt had only spotted Tommy running towards him when he was roughly 50 meters away. He immediately drew his sword, ready to fight off any incoming attacks, when Tommy crossed enough distance for him to see the terrorized look on the kids face.</p><p>As Tommy, came within striking range Schlatt hesitated, leaving Tommy enough time to fall to his knees in front of him and clutching at his perfectly clean, white shirt. Well, once clean and white, since the second Tommy had gripped it in his hands it was stained by blood and dirt. That was the first time Schlatt noticed how horrible the boy looked. He was covered in blood, dirt, scrapes and bruises all over. His hair was even more messy than usual and his face. His face was filled with absolute, pure and raw fear.</p><p>His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks stained by half dried and re-shed tears. He was staring into the mans shocked face, begging. “Please, please help me, please!”, he choked out between heavy sobs. As the boy shook at his feet, Schlatt lowered his blade, completely bewildered on what to do.</p><p>“Come back here Tommy!” He felt the boys grip tighten, his pleas only growing more desperate when the angry, growling voice called for him. Schlatt looked up to see Wilbur coming towards them. A blade covered in dried blood gripped in his hand and his face contorted in rage.</p><p>The President flipped his gaze between the angry man stomping towards him and the sobbing mess clinging at his feet. Without a second thought he drew his blade in the direction of the oncoming ball of rage, pulled the boy up and into his arm and shouted “STOP RIGHT THERE!”</p><p>Wilbur stopped dead in his tracks, shocked to the display before him. “STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU FUCKING ARE!” The goat man screamed at the top of his lungs. He had no idea what was actually going on, but if Tommy was willing to beg him for help, he was willing to protect the boy. At least until he knew what was going on.</p><p>“Don’t you dare take another step forward, Wilbur! I’m warning you!” For a second Schlatt thought he had convinced him, but a flash of anger crossed the other mans face and he began to yell himself.</p><p>“What the hell are you doing, Tommy?! You go to <em>this </em>man for comfort? The man who took your home away?” Wilbur growled, spitting the words at Tommy as if they were poison in his mouth. Tommy only whimpered and shook in reply and buried his face in Schlatts shoulder, clinging to him for dear life.</p><p>Upon registering his reaction, the ex-presidents demeanor changes completely. His voice took on a comforting and soothing tone, that was dripping with manipulation. “You wouldn’t betray me, would you Tommy?” He began to slowly creep towards the shivering boy.</p><p>“It’s okay Tommy. I know you wouldn’t dare betray me.” He continued to step forward and Schlatt began to feel himself boil over, pulling the boy closer to himself. “STOP WILBUR!”</p><p>“I won’t be mad Tommy. You just have to come to me and I’ll make sure you’re safe.” He didn’t even seem to care about Schlatt anymore, purely focused on convincing the teenager to return to him. “If you obey I’ll even spare Tubbo.”</p><p>Those were the words that broke Schlatts self control. He held Tommy as close as he could as he thrust his sword towards Wilbur, who stopped once again at the angry screech.</p><p>“STOP! IF YOU DON’T STEP BACK RIGHT NOW I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” For a second the president was just relieved to have made him stop advancing further, but then he scoffed and a devilish grin split his lips.</p><p>“Oh really? You think you have what it takes to kill me ‘Mr. President’?” Wilbur laughed hysterically, thinking he’d won, until Sapnap, George, Fundy and Eret appeared next to their president, swords and axes held ready to attack.</p><p>The evil laughter died on his lips as soon as it began. Schlatt had succeeded in being loud enough to draw attention to his situation, so that the others could come to his rescue. Wilbur’s face once again contorted into a dark expression.</p><p>“Final warning Wilbur. Back. Off.” Schlatt stated, still angry yet calmer than before. Wilbur’s lips quivered, clearly wanting to say something. He swallowed his words and turned around, but before he was about to walk away he spoke one last sentence, that made Tommy’s eyes widen in fear.</p><p>“You know what happens to traitors, don’t you Tommy?” With those final words spoken he walked away, disappearing into the treeline.</p><p>Everyone stood and just stared in silence for a second. The only sounds coming from the teenager locked in Schlatts one armed hug, as he whimpered and breathed heavily. After a couple seconds of subsiding shock, the man finally took a look at the boy in his arms.</p><p>He looked horrible, even more so than before, but now his face had drained in color and Schlatt had no idea why until Tommy’s grip loosened and he started to fall to the ground. Catching him mid-fall he finally spotted the pool of blood on his abdomen where he’d been stabbed. Immediately he picked the boy up in his arms, unsure of what to do.</p><p>“We need to take him to mine and Skeppy’s house” Bad broke the silence, “I can treat him there, but we have to be fast, I don’t think he has much time left.” That sent everyone into full gear. Tommy was handed over to Eret, who was much stronger than Schlatt and most likely faster too. They all took off at a run, rushing the boy to safety as fast as they could.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wrote the first and second chapter in one go, and I have notes prepared for the third, no promises on when that is coming tho :P</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A childs tears will change your mind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy awakes.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy awoke to a black shadow looming over him. Before he even got a clear picture of the person leaning above him, he held his shivering arms weakly above his head to shield himself, already beginning to sob again.</p><p>“Please don’t kill me- please. I can’t- I...” he whimpered, keeping his eyes clenched shut. Bad exchanged a worried look with the other people present in the room before turning back to Tommy and speaking gently. “Tommy, it’s just me. Bad. I’m not going to kill you, okay?” He tried to touch him, but when Tommy jolted upon contact he decided not to.</p><p>He turned back around to look at the people who were present, trying to figure out who was the best choice to calm the boy. Fundy and Eret were probably out, considering they’d both already betrayed him once and Tommy was probably looking for someone to trust. Sapnap probably wasn’t a good choice either, since they didn’t seem to know each other too well. Schlatt was out of the picture too, since he’d probably caused a big part of the issue.</p><p>They really needed Tubbo or even Niki but neither were currently present and they had to pick someone <em>now</em>. Quickly weighing his options Bad came to the conclusion that if Tommy had been willing to fall to Schlatt for help, maybe he would do it again, so he waved the president over, motioning for him to take his place.</p><p>Without a word Schlatt walks over and crouches next to the bed Tommy has been laid out on. “Hey kiddo, it’s me Schlatt.” At that Tommy finally opened his eyes, if only a bit, looking fearfully up at the man who had rescued him. <em>Oh yeah, Schlatt had protected him from Wilbur. </em>In all his fear he completely forgot what had even happened. Yet his caution didn’t falter. Just because he’d been saved didn’t mean that they wouldn’t just kill him now and send him to respawn back in Pogtopia, right in the hands of Wilbur.</p><p>The only thing he could think to do was beg and plead to not be sent back to Wilbur. “Please! Please don’t send me back to him. Please I’ll do anything please, don’t make me go back!”</p><p>“Woah, woah, kid calm down! We won’t be sending you anywhere. Nobody is going to hurt or kill you, and we won’t send you back to him. Okay?” Tommy’s whimpers died down at those words and quieted down to hiccoughs and sniffles when Schlatt laid a gentle, reassuring hand onto his shoulder.</p><p>Schlatt withheld the words <em>for now</em> since he didn’t want to make the boy feel unsafe. If he wanted to figure out what had happened he would have to tell a lie or two. He couldn’t promise he wouldn’t kill or kick Tommy back out, depending on why he was there in the first place. But for now there was no point in scaring him more than he already was.</p><p>After calming down a bit more he accepts some food and water with shaky hands, and carefully eats away, apparently too weak and nervous to keep his hands steady. When he seems like hes okay Schlatt begins to talk again. “So Tommy, can you tell me what happened to you? I managed to understand Wilbur attacked you, but I’m missing a big piece of the story here. Mind sharing what went down back there.”</p><p>And with that Tommy began to just sob again. Memories came back to him of Wilbur looming behind him, yelling at him, scolding him for being untrustworthy. Being picked up by the collar, the cold metal piercing his flesh. The sudden reminder made his wound ache under the bandages that had been applied. He gasped for breath, choking words between sobs that rocked his whole body. He’d wanted to tell them how Wilbur had lost his mind, how he threatened to blow up Manburg. That Tommy had tried to convince him not to. How he’d grown paranoid of being betrayed by everyone. How he’d used violence against Tommy, just to get him to follow orders. How he’d been stabbed. How he’d escaped. How he’d run to Manburg for help. But all he could bring himself to say between sobs was “He tried to kill me. H-He doesn’t trust me- chased me- yelled- hurts. Please don- t kick me out! You can imprison me if you want! Just don’t send me back. I can’t- he’ll-”</p><p>Breathing heavily, desperately trying to get enough air into his lungs, he tried to rub the tears from his eyes, but it did nothing to stop the flow. Without even debating it first, Schlatt pulled the teen into his arms holding him close, one hand in his messy hair the other supporting his back. “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re not kicking you out. We’re not sending you back to that maniac.”</p><p>Schlatt stared out the window behind the bed and hushed calming words, while gently stroking a hand through his hair. There was a lot to think on. He didn’t gather much from what the boy had just explained, or tried to rather. However it was a start. Thinking things over he came to a conclusion.</p><p><em>Wilbur has somehow become very paranoid, even of his own right hand man. And he thought that through violence he’d be able to make sure that Tommy never stepped out of line. </em>That’s what he’d been able to decipher from what he’d seen and heard.</p><p>One thing was for sure tho. If the loudmouthed, angry blonde, who usually took on challenges much bigger than himself, was traumatized and scared enough of Wilbur that he’d rather be imprisoned by his enemy than to go back, then there was no way he could send Tommy back to Pogtopia.</p><p>“It’s okay Tommy. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I promise I won’t let him near you ever again.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Don't have any notes for coming chapters written yet but Im on a roll and I want to pump out as much as i can, lets goooooooooooooooo!</p><p>This chapters a bit shorter as well :P<br/>Also I felt it would have been weird if after everything Schlatt just accepts Tommy in, no questions asked, so I wanted to make sure he was at least suspicious until he knows whats going on with Tommy and Wilbur</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A heart to resolve, a head to contrive, a hand to execute</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bad has some concerns, Schlatt has a solution.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Word about the situation spread quickly around Manburg, prompting a bunch of people coming to visit Tommy to check in on him.</p><p>Bad was sticking around for each visit mostly for Tommy’s safety, however witnessing each and every visit made him pick up on some things that nobody else seemed to question. So by the time Tubbo came to visit Bad made up his mind and pulled Schlatt outside the door for a discussion.</p><p>“Schlatt I’m concerned about him.” He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, before taking a deep breath and continuing, “While I was patching him up I noticed bruises on both his neck and his arms, in multiple places. Some more recent than others and after watching him during all the visits I noticed that he seems afraid of being touched. The only people that he seems to tolerate touching him are you, Tubbo and Niki to a certain degree. Everyone else seems to be off limits.”</p><p>Schlatt nodded slowly in understanding scratching at his chin thoughtfully. “I think I can see why he doesn’t mind Niki and Tubbo, however I don’t quite understand his trust towards me. I won’t complain though, I think it makes all this a lot easier.”</p><p>“Well, I’d say he trusts you because you were there for him when he was afraid. He has no reason to doubt you any more.” Bad paused, leaving only silence between the two, while he searched for words to say what was on his mind. “Schlatt I… I’m concerned that he’s suffered some serious mental scars from what Wilbur has done to him. And as long as we don’t know what happened to him exactly we can’t know what will trigger him into what might just be another panic attack.”</p><p>The other mans eyes filled with concern, humming in thoughtful agreement. Schlatt hadn’t a clue on how to deal with this whole situation but he knew one thing for sure. He had to make sure Tommy was safe. So he wracked his head, trying to come up with a way to solve this problem.</p><p>Bad broke the ever longer lasting silence once again. “I have an idea on how to stop disaster from striking, but I don’t know if we can make it work somehow. Especially with so little people he can trust...”, he trailed off. “Hit me and we’ll see what we can do after.”</p><p>“I think it would be for the best if he always had someone around that he can trust, so that in case something does set him off he has someone close by that can help him calm down. I don’t think we should put a responsibility like that on Tubbo, which only leaves you and maybe Niki.”</p><p>“Well, shit...”, Schlatt muttered into his hand. “Language.”, Bad scolded quietly, honestly not even in the mood to get angry about it.</p><p>A couple more seconds of heavy silence passed before he made his choice. “I’ll keep them by my side at all times. Both Tubbo and Tommy. I’ll make sure they’re always with me, no matter what.” Resolve clear in his eyes.</p><p>“Why both of them?”, Bad cut in a bit dumbfounded. “Well, you weren’t there for it yet, but from what Wilbur said, he has it out for Tubbo too, and I don’t want another traumatized child on my hands. Plus, you know them. They’re like bread and butter, you can’t tear them apart. No one will be able to help him quite like Tubbo could.” Bad nods along in agreement. “That is true. You think you can handle that tho?”</p><p>“I’ll have to Bad. I’ll have to.” With that the two of them returned back into the Room Tommy and Tubbo were talking in. What they saw on the bed was truly a sight to behold.</p><p>Tubbo had climbed into the bed next to Tommy, with his knees drawn up to his chest. Tommy was sat next to him fast asleep, his head leaning against the other boy’s shoulder. Tubbo had leaned his head against Tommy’s and draped a comforting arm around the blonde’s back.</p><p>When he looked up at the adults returning to the Room, he held his finger up to his mouth, motioning for them to be quiet. Schlatt just smiled. What a sweet kid. Tommy really was lucky to have this boy as his best friend. Schlatt quietly walked over and ruffled the brunettes hair and gave him a comforting gentle smile.</p><p>“Think you can hold out here for a bit while I grab some of my work stuff?”, he whispered as quietly as he could. Tubbo nodded and gave him a big toothy grin, that flooded Schlatt’s heart with warmth.</p><p>By the time he had returned they were both asleep. Heads laid against each other, breathing softly. Schlatt smiled once more and covered them both with a blanket. <em>I’m not letting anything hurt them ever again.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is completly unrelated to the chapter BUT, I used to think that I was writing Wilbur OOC because he was maybe a bit too crazy for the Wilbur we see on the SMP, but after yesterdays stream I think my writing will never live up to Wilburs actual level of crazy.</p><p>Thank you guys for all the feedback btw, I makes me really happy to know you enjoy it :3, all the comments made yesterday one of the best days in a while :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Lies have short legs and the truth always catches up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy is weak, but Tubbo is there for him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“He’s actually pretty nice, isn’t he?”, Tommy mumbled in his friend's direction, from where he was sitting next to him in the grass. The brunette turned to him and made a questioning noise, caught off guard by the sudden break of silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Schlatt I mean.”, he continued thoughtfully. “Yeah, no, you’re right.” Tubbo looks questioningly at his friend, who doesn’t look back but instead just plays with the grass by his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was he always this nice? While we weren’t around, you know.” The brunette thought for a bit before replying sincerely. “Yeah, actually. In the beginning I was scared of him and I know he was using me as a weapon against you, but he hasn’t really been rude or anything like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy still didn’t return his friends questioning look and instead gazed across the field into the direction of the evening sun. “Do you think...Wilbur was right?”, he whispered, barely audible anymore. Tubbo shifted, fully turning around to sit next to his friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean? About what?” When his friend didn’t reply he placed a reassuring hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “What happened, Tommy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Blonde drew in a shaky breath, clearly trying to control the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. “What if we are the villains, Tubbo? We’re just taking control over something that rightfully no longer belongs to us. What if all we were doing, was trying to regain power over a nation that clearly didn’t want us in charge?” His head whipped around to face his friend, tears beginning to spill from his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that what he told you?”, Tubbo pushed, gently taking a hold of Tommy’s hand, who just nodded, clenching his eyes shut to stop the flow of tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Tommy. Maybe he was right, but that shouldn’t matter now. We’re not the adults here. We’re just following our leaders and if Wilbur decides that he wants to play the villain we don’t have to follow him. We don’t have to support what he does.” He pulled his friend into a close hug. Tommy just grabbed hold of Tubbo’s shirt and cried into his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told him he was wrong, Tubbo. I really did! I tried to get him to stop, but he just kept telling me that I didn’t know what I was talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You weren’t wrong, Tommy. Wilbur lost it and you tried to help him. He didn’t let you. Anything he chose after was not your fault. You did all you could.” The crying teen just shivered in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I couldn’t speak up to him anymore! He- he got so violent. The slightest thing pissed him off, and then he kept going on and on about how I wasn’t trustworthy anymore. And when he found out I talked to you he- HE-” Tommy couldn’t finish what he wanted to say, the images of Wilbur trying to kill him, painfully flooding his mind. He clutched at where he’d been stabbed. The wound had already healed, but the pain remained fresh in his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s probably endured hundreds of deaths already. Hell he couldn’t even count all the times he’d died to Dream. But what made this hurt so much more than anything else was the added pain of the betrayal and the fear his own mentor had instilled within him. No arrow to the chest could ever compare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His thoughts abruptly stopped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dream. He gave Wilbur the TNT. Wilbur’s going to rig the festival!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Tubbo, he wants to rig the festival!”, Tubbo’s eyes widened, suddenly remembering his last conversation with Wilbur. “Oh wait, yeah you’re right! He told me about that! He told me to put a keyword in my speech for when I’m ready to run away!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy sat up, gripping Tubbo by the shoulders, a shocked expression across his face. “He told you about all that? He told me not to tell you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And he told me not to speak to you anymore!” Tommy looked both hurt and angry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was trying to tear us apart...” he spoke, his voice flooded with disappointment. “That bastard! Of course that was his plan. How didn’t I see that earlier?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy was never the type of guy to regret things. He liked to tell himself he didn’t make mistakes, no matter if deep down he knew he made a lot of them, but right now he was regretting a lot of things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That he’d put his trust in Wilbur and sometimes just followed him blindly. That he hadn’t been able to convince him that blowing up Manburg just wasn’t right. But the biggest regret that weighed on his mind, so heavy it could crush him any second, was not noticing that Wilbur was trying to turn Tubbo and Tommy against each other. All that just so he could get his way. It really hurt that he’d trusted this man enough to follow his every step. He’d never even bothered to look at what was going on around him, only staring at Wilbur’s back, trying to catch up to him. To </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> like him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away. “It doesn’t matter now. We have to make sure he can’t make that plan become a reality. We have to stop Wilbur somehow!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy sat up and gave his friend a determined look, but the fear in his eyes showed his dislike of the idea of facing Wilbur again. Tubbo shook his head in reply. Schlatt had pulled him aside before, telling him that under no circumstance were he and Tommy to get near Wilbur ever again. He’d told him that it was for their own safety, just like having Schlatt around them at all times was. Which was why the goat man was sitting on a bench only a couple meters away from them, right out of hearing range, as long as they talked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt had already thrown Tubbo a concerned glance when Tommy had started to cry, but the teen had signaled him that they’d be okay, so Schlatt had gone back to his paperwork. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should just tell Schlatt about the TNT. We don’t have to go up against Wilbur again. The adults can get rid of the explosives and keep an eye out for him at the festival. We don’t have to be the ones to stop him, Tommy.” The blonde lowered his head, his hands falling weakly into his lap, where he stared at them for a second, lost in thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...it’s probably for the better.”, he muttered, exhausted from everything that was going on, but inwardly relieved to not have to be the one to deal with his previous mentor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy could bring himself to do a lot of things. Stuff that no one else dared to do but if there was one thing he was sure he was incapable of it was facing Wilbur. If he had to do that, he knew he would shatter.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Really happy about how this chapter turned out.</p><p>ALSO! To anyone that who really enjoys wholesome Schlatt and isn't aware, Schlatt actually runs a second channel where he gives helpful advice to people in need.<br/>You can find it on youtube under the name theweeklyslap :3<br/>Hope it helps!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The eyes are a window to the soul</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wilbur returns to Pogtopia</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wilbur stomped angrily through the woods, back in the direction of Pogtopia. He was thoroughly pissed. <em> Who did Tommy think he was? Betraying him like that! And Schlatt too. He’d probably manipulated the child somehow. Probably promised him something Wilbur couldn’t. What a despicable man. </em> He thought sourly.</p><p>Passing by Tommy’s “Intimidation Tower” as he called it he stopped and stared up at it for a second. It was just so ugly and pointless. Just like having Tommy on his side was. Utterly pointless. <em> What did Tommy ever do for him? </em></p><p><em> If having Tommy was so pointless, then why was he so upset about losing him? </em> That thought sent him boiling with rage. “THAT BONEHEADED TRAITOR CHILD!”, he yelled into the darkness that was surrounding him. He reached out and punched the tower with his fist. </p><p>His knuckles made a disgusting crunching noise upon impact, prompting him to draw it back with a hissing noise. He just stood there staring at his hands, his whole body shaking violently for a couple of seconds before he clenched them shut and roared a scream of raw and unfiltered anger into the night.</p><p>
  <em> He wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t sad. He didn’t want Tommy back. He didn’t. He didn’t even care. </em>
</p><p>He shoved his bleeding hand into his coat pocket. He’d deal with that later. He had no time to get lost in petty injuries, when there was so much to do. So much to plan.</p><p>He dug his way through the dirt covering the entrance to Pogtopia and immediately went to open his ender chest, when a deep voice rang out behind him.</p><p>“Soooo, what’s got you screaming about children in the middle of the night?”</p><p>“OH JESUS! FUCK- Techno! Announce yourself man! Fucking hell, you scared the shit outta me.” Wilbur whipped around, scrambling against the wall behind him and holding a hand over his rapidly beating heart.</p><p>“Sorry, I’ll say hello first, next time.”, he chuckled in reply. His lighthearted smile quickly faded, when he realized Wilbur was dead serious and definitely not in a joking mood.</p><p>“You good, man? You got a little something on your hand there.” Techno motioned to Wilburs blood covered knuckles and ever so slightly misaligned bones, the latter of which Techno seemed to have missed. Wil quickly shoved his injured hand back into his pocket, waving him off with the other. “Don’t worry about that. Completely unimportant. I’ll fix that in a bit.”</p><p>“If you say so...” the crowned man just stood there for an awkward moment, unsure of what to do. When Wilbur didn’t give him anything to go off of he asked again. “Yeah so uh...what’s going on? Where’s Tommy? I'm a bit out of the loop here.”</p><p>“Where’s Tommy? Where’s Tommy!”, the brunette muttered in a mocking tone, getting progressively louder. “That bastard child betrayed us!” Techno took a surprised step back.</p><p>“Oh...”, it wasn’t unlike him to be unable to reply to things, he wasn’t good with conversation, but this left him speechless for a whole different reason. “I...honestly didn’t think he had it in him. He seemed to look up to you a lot. Looked to me like he was trying to be like you.”</p><p>“Well, apparently not!” Wilbur grabbed a fistful of his own hair for comfort, or just to have somewhere to place his endlessly shaky hands. It did nothing. “He went and ran off to Schlatt! Probably went for a bribe or some shit.” He continued to rant on and on eventually trailing off, too tired to even bother anymore.</p><p>“Well that sucks, but on the bright side, now we can blow them all up at the festival. Tommy included.”, Techno tried to offer. Instead of even the slightest bit of happiness, which was what he’d expected Wilbur threw him a furious glare. They say ‘if looks could kill’, but those dark eyes staring back at him we’re full of madness. Even if just one of his eyes was visible behind his mane of brown locks, Wilbur looked like he’d lost every shred of sanity, he had left.</p><p>Techno took a surprised step backwards. “Oh can we now, Techno? Can we now? You think now that Schlatt has both of the boy’s that knew about the plan, they’re gonna keep that a secret? You think those brats will keep their mouth shut???”</p><p>Wilbur stalked forward, towards Techno ‘til he stood right in front of him, staring him straight into the eyes, which in the other man’s opinion was quite a bit unsettling. “No Techno my friend, we’re gonna have to come up with a new Plan.”</p><p>A terrifying grin split his lips, that made him look even more unhinged. Picture a man, with blood covered hands; torn, dirty clothing; unkempt hair; tired, yet mad eyes and the smile of a maniac. That was exactly the image stood in front of Techno, who was taken aback for the first time in a long time.</p><p>“And trust me my friend. Trust me when I say this. I have the perfect plan.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks everyone again for all the nice comments they really make my day :D</p><p>I was debating for a while what Id do with Wilbur and Techno once they met up and decided that Wilbur would probably, without even realizing withhold parts of the situation from Techno, so he'd indefinetly end up on his side.</p><p>Hopefully I was able to write the Potato king in a believeable way too.</p><p>Lastly to all of those excited for more content, get yourself strapped in. I write by the flow but I feel like this is going to be a longer story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Everything feels gray and all you can do is regret.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When the boys told Schlatt about Wilbur rigging the festival he immediately dropped what he was doing, grabbed them both and ran off to a safe spot, while calling a bunch of people. Within half an hour the floor around the podium was torn open and all the TNT, or so they hoped, was removed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the while Schlatt had been pacing up and down the floor of the house he’d built for the 3 of them. He’d previously neglected to build a house for himself, opting to sleep in his office most of the time, but he felt such a state wasn’t suitable for the two kids he now dragged with him everywhere. Or rather, they dragged him. Because no matter how much of a hassle working without a desk was, he couldn’t bring himself to deny them their fun. So whenever either of them asked to go outside somewhere he obliged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Letting them do their own thing was quite difficult. They couldn’t really go out and do anything. The risk of them running into Wilbur without supervision was too big. And just sending anyone with them wouldn’t work either, since Tommy only trusted Tubbo, Schlatt and Niki.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki had been so sweet to him ever since he’d come back. And not only to Tommy and Tubbo but she’d been a dear to Schlatt himself too. She offered to keep watch on them whenever she wasn’t busy with the bakery. Schlatt was really angry with himself still for raising her taxes so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been sure that Niki was a spy. She was so sweet and no one would ever suspect her. Which was exactly what made Schlatt suspicious of her. He didn’t think he could convince her to join his side if she really was a spy, so he decided to try and make her leave by raising her taxes absurdly high. Yeah, in hindsight that must’ve been very hard on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turns out the person who was a lot like Niki and should’ve been suspected for the same reason was the actual spy. So he hadn’t been too far off from the truth. Tubbo had shyly explained to him that the reason he knew about the TNT was because Wilbur had used him as a spy the whole time. “I really should’ve noticed that.”, was all he’d replied at that time before ruffling the brunette’s hair and telling him not to worry about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki had told Schlatt the same thing. After he explained himself she just smiled apologetically and forgave him. After everything she knew that the president was trustworthy. Yet when she smiled there was a tinge of sadness in her eyes. She’d never admit it but it hurt to know that someone she’d valued so much as a friend ended up being the one to disappoint her the most.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But alas she’d been an absolute saint. Helping at every opportunity, offering supplies for both repairing the festival floor and building the house for Tommy, Tubbo and their guardian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s what Schlatt felt like right now. A guardian. It was tiring at times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy was so closed off, and every here, now and then he’d just break down and cry for a while. Someone was always there. He was never alone, but when he was in a good mood he could be such a troublemaker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy couldn’t sit still when he was happy. He needed to do things and it hurt Schlatt to have to tell him off most of the time. As much as he’d like to be there for them and just let them do their thing, he still had duties in his role as president.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy didn’t like being told no, so he’d argue every single time. Schlatt would always give him the same answer. “No can do Tommy, I’d love to let you two go but it’s way too dangerous for that right now.” Tommy would always yell angrily in reply, until he ran out of words to yell. Schlatt would always just wait patiently until the kid had run himself out. When the blonde was done he would always look him in the eyes and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you want to go, kid. But I just can’t let you, yet. Please understand, I’m doing this for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He always got that </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> afterwards. He was clearly aware of the consequences of running into Wilbur’s open arms and as much as he wanted to just go and do the things he always did, he didn’t want to end up in a situation he couldn’t escape. He’d suck it up with a deep breath and walk back to Tubbo, who'd just hug him, trying to comfort his friend. Tubbo understood both sides. At times he didn’t know which he agreed with more.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again thanks for all the comments :3 I love interacting with you guys and I appreciate all the suggestions to better my writing UwU</p><p>I'd also like your opinion on something this time. I do also draw and sometimes I feel like a scene could do with a picture. I'm not sure if I'll actually do it at all but for now I'd just like to know what you guys think about the idea. Would you like some images in between there or do you prefer just the writing?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Rest easy by my side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HEY YOU! Yeah you! Stop right what you're doing and read this story based on this one by ViolentVioletEyes https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109624<br/>It's very well written and happens to have a very funny coincidence in combination with this chapter, but you'll figure that out by reading ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was incredibly hot that night. Tommy was sweaty to the point of soaking his clothes, so he got up to open the window, which he distinctly remembered opening before he went to sleep. <em> Maybe someone had closed it. Not a big deal. </em></p><p>He strolled over to the window, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was going to have to wash his face with some water anyways, so he might as well wake himself up enough to function.</p><p>He grabbed the curtains, closed his eyes and let out a big yawn. When he opened them up to look outside the window a pale face stared back at him. A single eye drawn wide open, the pupil quickly shrinking in size from the light in Tommy’s room. Messy, brown hair across half the face and a completely expressionless look, which immediately grew into a disgustingly large smile upon seeing Tommy on the other side of the glass.</p><p>The boy was frozen in fear. It didn’t even take him a second to recognize those crazy eyes, when he’d seen them so very clearly many more times than he’d liked. His breath caught in his throat, eyes just as wide as those of the man outside his room.</p><p>His old friend slowly drew a bony hand up to the pane and tilted his head. Despite being on the other side of the glass Tommy could hear his voice as if it were coming from inside his own head. “What are you doing here, Tommy?”</p><p>Wilbur pushed against the window, which opened without any resistance and slowly crept towards the teen. “You’re not supposed to be here. You should be with me. In Pogtopia.” Tommy at once began to stumble backwards unable to take his eyes off of the man climbing in through his window.</p><p>His posture shifted from crouching on the window sill to stepping inside the room and growing from eye level to towering above him. His limbs twisting in an unsettling way. “Come home with me Tommy! I’ll bring you to a safer place.” The voice was barely a whisper, but it was so very loud inside Tommy’s head.</p><p>“No, stop”, the blonde whispered, falling backwards into a corner. He had nowhere left to crawl to. “GET AWAY!”, he screamed at the man that was standing upright above him. His unblinking eye somehow shimmered through the darkness as a frown settled on his face.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“What’s the matter Tommy?”, Wilbur asked, completely oblivious to the terror he was causing him. His eyes finally shifted, together with the wicked smile that split his lips. His face contorted in a way that didn’t seem human. “It’s okay Tommy” he cooed, leaning down with their faces only centimeters apart from one another.</p><p>“YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!”</p><p>Tommy screamed at the top of his lungs, as Wilbur shot towards him. Clenching his eyes shut, he covered his head with his arms in a desperate attempt to save himself. Kicking out at Wilbur’s legs repeatedly as a last line of defense.</p><p>Tommy felt his foot impact, heard a hiss of pain and moments later someone was holding him. He knew Wilbur was going to grab him but this was oddly different to how he imagined that to feel, so when he opened his eyes he was surprised to see Schlatt holding him instead.</p><p>He broke down right then and there. He cried and sobbed into his guardians shoulder. Shaking and shuddering, barely able to breathe. His chest ached and he felt himself growing light headed by the second. Heaving hitched breaths through his sore throat he tried to regain his calm.</p><p>It felt like everything was spinning around him, going way too fast for him to keep up. He didn’t even register Schlatt’s soothing words, his voice being drowned out completely by the piercing ring in his ears.</p><p>His hands were numb, his eyes burned and he could’ve sworn his lungs were filled with water as he clutched at Schlatt’s shirt refusing to let go. And Schlatt only held him tighter, continuing to whisper gentle words of reassurance until Tommy finally stopped crying.</p><p>The blonde head of hair sagged onto Schlatt’s shoulder, heaving to catch his breath. Schlatt just rubbed comforting circles on the boy’s back, promising him he was safe and sound.</p><p>He was so very tired. This was not the first nightmare he’d had since returning to Manburg but it was by far the worst. Schlatt was always there, while Tubbo usually slept through everything. His friend was a hard sleeper, but it didn’t surprise Tommy to see him standing in the doorway looking awfully worried, when he finally lifted his head.</p><p><em> Ah fuck. </em>He hadn’t meant to wake him up. Tubbo really didn’t deserve to be dragged any deeper into this mess. He wanted so bad to come up with an excuse and tell Tubbo he was okay. That there was nothing his friend needed to worry about, but he just couldn’t find the strength within himself. And no matter what lie he would’ve told him, he would always see right through it.</p><p>“Look Tubbo, I’m okay! I’m fine! It’s not that bad. Don’t worry.”</p><p>“No you’re not!”</p><p>He could already hear the conversation echoing in his head. It was an awful feeling to know what he was putting his friend through. He hung his head in shame. He could do nothing but lift his hand weakly, reaching out to his best friend, who promptly ran over and joined the embrace, grabbing hold of the others hand for comfort.</p><p>“I’m sorry...”, he whispered before trailing off and falling asleep in Schlatt’s arms. Schlatt just picked him up, carrying him by his chest, the boy’s head still resting on his shoulder. It was easier said than done, since Tommy was almost as tall as Schlatt was but he managed. He rose from the floor and held out a hand to his other boy, who was still sitting on the floor with an unreadable expression.</p><p>“Wanna come sleep in my room, big boy?” Tubbo looked up at him with a smile, dipped in sadness and took the hand being outstretched to him. He followed Schlatt up the stairs and into his bedroom, where Schlatt set Tommy down gently, before slipping into the large bed himself, letting both kids put their head on his arms from either side.</p><p>He contemplated for a bit. Tommy had been so very insistent on having his own room, which was fine by him, however Schlatt had been very persistent in offering him to sleep in his room upstairs. He’d declined every time, arguing that he ‘<em> wasn’t a baby </em> ’. Schlatt didn’t think it made him a baby to not want to sleep alone. It was comforting to have someone by your side while you slept. Being surrounded by his two favorite boys confirmed that feeling for him. <em> I’m sure he’ll be okay with it next time. </em> He thought before drifting off to sleep too. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Now if you've read the story in the begginning you'll know they both cover nightmares, which is a complete coincidence btw. I wrote one half of the chapter and drew the picture very late in the evening and when I woke up in the morning I was greeted by the story mentioned above, which quite frankly made me laugh a lot.</p><p>Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback on if I should include drawings or not. Sometimes I think having a visual improves a scene and even though its not nearly as good as any of my actual artwork I feel like it hit's the fever dream-ish spot better than something super clean. I hope it visualizes the scene properly :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Leave them to their element and they’ll find themselves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy and Tubbo just being themselves for once</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Thank you for handling the boys today, Niki. I really need to make some preparations for the festival and I just can’t bring them along for that.” He straightened his tie, which he tended to do when he was nervous. Which he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Niki, it just didn’t feel right to leave his boys alone. No matter how many times he’d handed over the teens to someone that feeling never left him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay Schlatt, I’ve got some preparations of my own to do but keeping an eye on them is no problem at all. I’m glad I could be of help.” Niki smiled sweetly back at him. The gentle look made him release a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s very much appreciated.” He paused and also straightened his jacket before continuing. “Well then I’ll be off now. I’ll come pick them up later today. If anything is up just call me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” she nodded, “actually, hold on a minute.” Schlatt shot her a concerned glance when she lowered her voice near the end, he came a step closer to hear her better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure the festival is still a good idea? It doesn’t feel safe. You think everything will be okay?” Niki nervously rubbed at her arm, unsure of what to do with her hands. In return, the man let out a tired sigh running a hand through his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, I know everyone is kind of on edge about the festival, trust me I am too, but I think they need a breath of fresh air.” He nodded towards Tubbo and Tommy who were seated at one of the tables in the far corner arguing over a piece of paper. “And if this festival ain’t it then I don’t know what will be. We’ve gotten rid of the TNT and I’ll make sure we have increased security that day. I just want them to have a break for a bit. To just stop thinking about everything horrible going on and just have fun for a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki nodden in understanding, knowing exactly what Schlatt was trying to say. She’d seen it too. How both of them, but especially Tommy, would smile, but oftentimes their smiles wouldn’t reach their eyes. Sometimes they were lost in thought and they’d just have this worn out expression plastered across their faces. They could really use a day off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see. Well I trust your judgement.” Schlatt thanked her once more and then he was off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally the bakery was pretty quiet, but right now that quiet was being filled by two boy’s happily bantering over the speech, which Tubbo had insisted on still doing. Schlatt had genuinely considered calling that part of the festival off, but Tubbo would not back down, saying he was so excited about holding it. And he just couldn’t resist those puppy dog eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now they were sitting together, shoulders pressed up against one another, hunched over a piece of paper. Tommy had taken the initiative of writing, so Tubbo didn’t have to do it. Right now tho, instead of thinking of the words that would go in his speech he was squinting his eyes at the paper trying to read what Tommy was writing, while his friend cackled devilishly next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, hold on a minute, that’s not what I told you to write!” Tubbo snatched the paper away trying to read it again, to make sure he hadn’t misread.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on, but it’s way better like this!”, Tommy whined in return, leaning back in his chair and groaning dramatically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette set the paper back down, and threw his friend a look of disbelief. “You said I should come up with the words.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, to be fair tho, I said that before I knew you were so shit at writing speeches.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true!”, he yelled, sounding hurt, but he knew Tommy didn’t actually mean that. And Tommy knew Tubbo wasn’t actually offended. That’s just how they were with each other. That’s what made them best friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They bickered on about what should go in the speech for a while longer, before the blonde leaned back in his chair and let out a dramatic sigh. “We’ll never get anywhere like this, Tubbo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should take a break for a bit.”, the brunette replied sounding equally as wrung out, letting his head sink into his arms on the table. He turned to look at his friend who shot him an annoyed glare. “Oh yeah? What the hell else are we going to do to pass the time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I might have something for you two.” Niki spoke up from behind them. She had an apron draped across each of her arms and smiled gently. “I have to make a lot of preparations for the festival and I’m a bit under time pressure, so I was thinking. How would you guys like to help me out with baking?” She held her arms outstretched towards the two, expectantly waiting for an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two looked at each other, both with a surprised grin on their lips. They turned to look at Niki and nodded vigorously at the same time. “Then grab an apron and follow me”, she chirped happily, handing them both one of the aprons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It started off a little chaotic, but good enough for Niki to leave them both to their jobs, while she worked on cake decorations in the front room of the shop. Tommy was set on duty to read off the recipe, while Tubbo used his prior knowledge to get them both doing the right thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy was definitely a little more unorganized. Despite being the one to actually read the instructions he found a little too much joy in playing around with the dough they were making. Taking creative liberty in how much of each ingredient was needed, based on how much he liked them, made Tubbo have to interfere several times to stop him from ruining the dough. They each had their own bowl to work on, but Tubbo wanted to make sure his friend's batch would turn out fine as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the fifth or sixth time of him telling the taller boy off and slapping his hand to stop putting even more flour in the mix, some of the flour in his hand puffed out in a cloud of white smoke. The blonde stared at it for a second before grinning with a wide smile, which the other missed, since he’d gone back to working on his own bowl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Tubbo!” He heard his friend’s voice behind him and turned around to face the other, when a clap rang out from Tommy’s hands and another cloud of white powder flew directly into his face. He sputtered, clenching his eyes shut, trying to remove the flour that had gone into his mouth to no avail, while Tommy burst out laughing, almost falling over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HAHAHAHAHA! Oh you should’ve seen your face!”, he curled over holding his stomach, unable to contain the laughter that was bubbling out of him. He couldn’t even look at his friend, too busy to not fall over. He only looked up when Tubbo called out to him and he immediately received his own face full of flour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rubbed at his own face in shock, while the other was laughing just as hard as he had been a second ago. They looked at each other, Tubbo’s laugh dying down for a second. Then both of them snorted and laughed together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What followed was a back and forth of claps, slowly but surely covering the entire kitchen area in a layer of white dust. One could’ve thought christmas had hit early, if it weren’t for the fact that it was mid summer. Completely disregarding their surroundings they laughed and played like unsupervised children. Which was exactly what they were. So when Niki walked in to check what all the fuss was about she wasn’t even surprised to see the mess that they’d made. Looking like they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, both boys stopped mid movement to look at the woman who had just walked in on them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heeeeeeyy, Niki!”, Tommy said, his voice cracking with uncertainty while shooting her a wavering smile that didn’t have nearly as much confidence as it should’ve had. “W-we were just...baking and- and- and the- the flour, it uuuuuuh- it just… yanno?” Tommy could see the disappointment in her eyes. Her face suddenly seemed all too familiar. That disapproving glare, and those unblinking eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, No that couldn’t be, he wasn’t here. Niki wasn’t...him. But then why did she suddenly look so much like him?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki caught that look of fear that was quickly spreading across the blonds face. The way he seemed to scan her expression but not look directly at her. She saw Tubbo in her peripheral vision, looking back and forth between the other 2 in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I started it!”, he blurted out holding out a protective arm over Tommy, who was looking more and more terrified by the second. Tubbo was aware that whatever he saw in Niki’s face had awakened some sort of memory, and he had to stop the worst from happening right now, or his friend would have another meltdown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki noticed it too. That something was off the second Tommy had caught her look. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She didn’t look that scary, did she?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t matter! She had to make sure that Tommy knew things were okay and that she wasn’t mad. “Hey, hey it’s okay. I don’t really care who started it.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh boy that came out wrong.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as she wanted to reassure them both she was very nervous and messing it up by fumbling over her words. She lifted her hands defensively, waving them around trying to explain what she’d ment. “I-I mean, I don’t care because this isn’t a big deal. I mean it happens. You guys were just having fun. I'm not mad! We can clean this up together and move on. We’ll just...have to get some more flour.” She threw a glance in the direction of the flour bag she’d given them, which by now was nearly empty and chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy watched that all too familiar look of displeasure fade and form into a gentle smile. He swallowed hard. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course. He’d just imagined it. This was Niki for god’s sake. She wasn’t anything like Wilbur.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki was glad to see the blonde’s shoulders untense at her words. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if that hadn’t calmed him. She’d already been present during a few of his panic attacks but Tubbo had consoled him every time. She was worried for the day he wouldn’t be able to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shaking her head she tried to force those thoughts away and instead focused on getting the kitchen cleaned up. Flour wasn’t too easy to remove, so even with help from both of them this was going to take a while. So better start late than never.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I apologize for the delay of this chapter, I had already written most of it a day ago but I had a migraine all day yesterday and couldn't get anything done at all. :P</p><p>Anyways I wanna say thanks again for all the nice comments you guys leave, they really do make me happy :3<br/>I hope you enjoyed this chapter of the boys just having fun and only a tiny drop of angst in there ;) Gotta keep ya'll on the edge of your seat.</p><p>Ps. I was trying very hard to imitate the thing Tommy does when he's obviously lying and he just stutters all over the place. Hope I managed to write it the way he would do it</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Speak your demands</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The day of the festival finally arrives.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The day of the festival finally came around. Everyone had been incredibly excited. Even Schlatt, who admittedly had worried the most over how the festival might go was excited. Probably due to both of his boys practically radiating happiness and energy whenever the topic of the festival came up. It was so heart warming and he couldn’t bring himself to call it off. Instead he had worked hard together with a bunch of people to get a group of fully decked out guards set for the day. A group of 4 people in fully enchanted, netherite armor. 2 being assigned to guard each Tommy and Tubbo respectively that day. Bad and Skeppy were told to guard Tubbo while Sapnap and Punz kept watch over Tommy. It made things feel a little odd but it was worth the extra protection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt had also called for everyone else to keep their eyes and ears open for anything unnatural throughout the event and immediately report to him if something came up. So that was the game plan for the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It started off fun. The different festival attractions were shown off. Food from Niki’s bakery was passed around for everyone to enjoy and even one or the other friendly brawl was held. Tommy being incredibly excited about dunking people in the water was obvious since he almost passed out from laughter a couple of times after seeing his friends get soaked. When the others started suggesting he should get dunked next he took off running around wildly, yelling constantly about this being a bad idea. He ended up being dunked as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he came popping out of the water he threw everyone an angry glare before busting out laughing once more. It seemed that just for today he’d forgotten how afraid he was of being chased. How terrified he normally was when someone grabbed him and dragged him places he didn’t want to go. It was all lighthearted fun and for once in quite a while he couldn’t remember the horrors of the previous days. He was so in his element nothing could bring him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo on the other hand was excited to see that the baked goods they’d made for the day were being received with pleasant smiles. He’d spent so much time trying to get Tommy to actually follow the recipe and felt immensely proud of himself when he was informed that his work had paid off. He beamed an excited smile when he offered Schlatt a slice of cake, who accepted it graciously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first bite made his eyes widen in surprise. “Did you make this?”, he asked pointing expectantly at the plate in his hand. The brunette nodded vigorously, his smile seemingly growing even wider than before, which Schlatt hadn’t even known was possible. “This is real good! Great job kid.”, he praised, his mouth still half full. The man reached out his hand and ruffled the teens hair. Tubbo relished in the praise, soaking it up like a sponge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a look at the time. “How bout I finish this piece and then we go for the speeches, hm? I think it’s about time we get to that.” Tubbo nodded once more and went to change into his suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d hated it before. It made him feel so out of place. He’d just felt like a smaller version of Schlatt and back then he didn’t want to be anything like him. He’d seemed like an evil tyrant. He hadn’t been able to see past him banning his best friend and former leader. Now he understood, and now it just made him feel formal. In a good comforting way, like this was where he was supposed to be. No longer a false symbol of being Schlatt’s henchman, but rather a way to show he was taking this speech to heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not long after Schlatt, Quackity and Tubbo stepped up onto stage, together with Bad and Skeppy who took their place at either side of the platform to guard them. Everyone else slowly began to shuffle onto the field below, either taking a seat or standing to get a better look. Tommy was begrudgingly walking to the back of the crowd. He’d wanted to be in the first row, so he could see Tubbo better while he was holding his speech, but Schlatt had insisted that he stay at the back together with Sapnap and Punz to assure he wasn’t at the center of attention. As much as Tommy hated not being there, right at the front, he understood it was for his safety, so he only muttered swears and complaints under his breath while walking with his guards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When everyone was seated Schlatt began his speech.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno peaked over the side of the tower, close to the festival stage. The first speech had already started and he was still clueless as to what they were doing here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Wilbur, I get a little bit of dramatic suspense but we’re already here and you still haven’t told me what the plan is. Am I going to be cut in any time soon or will you just leave me in the dark?”, he looked at the other man, who was looking down at the stage too. He lifted his expressionless gaze upon being addressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you see, I’ve had a few too many people betray me and I honestly preferred if I just withheld the plan from you so you couldn’t go and snitch on me, like a certain</span>
  <em>
    <span> someone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He spit that last word out and threw an angry glare in the direction of the blonde who stood at the back of the crowd, guarded by 2 people in full netherite. It wasn’t abnormal, since quite a few of the attendees had shown up in their armor, even Schlatt was wearing a set of his own, which was unusual for him. But it was quite clear the president had taken some extra security measures. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not enough to stop this plan though.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that sounds reasonable, but you know I could technically still betray you while we’re executing the plan.”, Techno shot back, completely ignoring what he was implying with his own words. However Wilbur was left unphased. He just smiled devilishly and replied in a threatening tone “But I’ll be ready this time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno couldn’t quite piece together how he felt about this. On one hand he knew Wilbur didn’t actually have shit on him. Techno was much stronger than him physically but Wilbur was a man of wits, and knowing that Wilbur had a plan in case he decided to switch sides at the last second made him wonder if betraying this man was even an option if he wanted to live.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Well”, he huffed, tucking those thoughts away in the back of his mind to contemplate later, “you gonna tell me what I’m supposed to do then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur threw a glance down at the ongoing speech. He could barely hear what they were saying from this distance, but he knew Schlatt was going to finish off soon. “We’re running out of time, so now is as good a time as any.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grabbed the pink haired man by the shoulder and leaned forward, bringing his mouth up to the other man’s ear. Techno’s eyes grew wide at the whispered words, his face contorting in a mixture of shock and contemplation. When Wilbur stepped back his brows furrowed thoughtfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking up at the other man he spoke his mind. “Wilbur I… I don’t know if I'm comfortable with this idea of yours.” Wilburs face quickly contorted in rage as he stepped close to the other man once more, bringing them face to face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to betray me too are you?”, he breathed, sounding more paranoid than anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! No! It just seems a little...unethical?”, he wasn’t sure if unethical was really the right word for it but in the spur of the moment he couldn’t think of anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on Techno, you ruined a child’s life achievements over potatoes. Don’t you preach morality to me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey now, that man was an adult! And to be fair he had no reason to fight me whatsoever, he chose to do that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to follow the plan or not?!” Wilbur growled angrily, clenching his teeth and following the slowly retreating Techno, who then lifted his arms defensively and pushed Wilbur back to arms length.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will! I will! Don’t get all upset. I'm not going to betray you now. You and I both want Schlatt off that throne. And if this is what it takes to get him off then I guess I’ll just have to comply.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur squinted at him, studying his face before finally settling down. “I don’t trust you Techno. But this will be a lot easier with you on my side, so for now I’ll just hope that you won’t try to backstab me. But if you do, I’ll make sure you regret it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno was at wit’s end. He could feel something was very </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this plan. About Wilbur as a whole. Hell probably even about the situation they were in, but he didn’t have all the pieces and he had a feeling that this festival might just give him the pieces he was missing. For now he was going to follow Schlatt. If things really got bad he could always turn a blind eye and run. No matter how smart Wilbur was there were places where he would never find him. At the end of the day he was personally not in any danger. He was sure of that. Techno just wished he had a clue of what was going on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And with that, I’d like to hand the stage over to the one who planned and built most of this festival. Everyone clap it up for Tubbo!” A cheer rang through the gathered crowd as the brunette stepped up to the microphone, taking Schlatt’s place in front of the throne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you everyone.” He took a glance at his notes, before shoving them in his back pocket. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No point in trying to read those.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thought. He knew the speech in and out by now. Him and Tommy had practiced it so many times, he was sure he didn’t need the notes now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the crowd settled down from cheers and claps he took a deep breath and began to speak into the microphone, which Schlatt had thankfully already adjusted to his size.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you everybody for coming to the festival today. Thank you to everyone who helped me out with the preparations. And a very big thank you to Niki for bringing the food.” The crowd clapped it up once more for Niki, who’s face flushed as she tried to hide  in her sweater.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noticing that she didn’t want to be the center of attention, Tubbo continued, “We’ve gathered here today to celebrate not only Manburg, but also its citizens. You’ve all done a wonderful job of building up this place into a wonderful community of people. We’ve had our skirmishes, but we’ve been able to settle everything and even though the past few days have been a little rough, just for today let’s sit back and just have fun. We have some more things for everyone's enjoyment prepared and in a bit there will be another round of food.” With that he watched Niki perk up and skurry out of her chair, probably to start getting the food over. The bakery was quite a walk away after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t even realized he’d gone quiet for a second, completely distracted by Niki walking off. He was brought back to reality by a single voice screaming through the silence, drawing all the attention away from Tubbo and to himself instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WOOOOO, TUBBO!” Tommy screamed, to encourage his friend who seemed to have spaced out from something. He took a step forward and continued yelling words of encouragement. He saw Tubbo smile and chuckle lightheartedly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mission accomplished.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thought as people turned back to the stage waiting for Tubbo to continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now!”, Wilbur hissed hurriedly, before both him and Techno threw an ender pearl in opposite directions, off the top of the tower and into the field below. Techno landed in between Tubbo’s back and the large throne and immediately grabbed the boy from behind, holding him by his arm in a tight grip, while pressing his axe to the brunette’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo reeled in place, being caught off balance, he tried to steady himself but the blade threatening to decapitate him stopped him dead in his tracks. He threw a terrified glance up at the man holding him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It was Techno.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tubbo was honestly terrified, but even through the angry expression on the man’s face he could see </span>
  <em>
    <span>something.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He couldn’t tell what it was. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Regret? Uncertainty? Confusion?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The pig man broke the silence, “Everybody stand down or the kid gets it!”, he yelled across the shocked crowd, who instead immediately drew their weapons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt was frozen. He’d taken all the precautions to keep his boys safe and yet he’d failed to protect Tubbo at last. He threw a worried look at Tubbo, wondering if they could overwhelm Techno somehow, but those thoughts were quickly erased when he heard a distressed whimper and a following commotion in the back lines. Looking over to the back row seats the crowd split down the middle and Schlatt’s eyes widened in horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was his other boy, sobbing and shaking, while being held forcefully by the back of the neck, a sword pressing into his skin from the front. Wilbur stood there, holding his boy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>his son</span>
  </em>
  <span> hostage. Tommy clawed desperately at the skin of his neck, weakly trying to fight off Wilburs angry grip, which only led to him digging the blade further into his neck, drawing a trickle of blood that ran down into the collar of his shirt, staining it red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt dropped all his thoughts of overwhelming the enemy right then and there, as he watched the scene unfold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy!”, Tubbo yelled trying to reach out a hand to his friend. To no avail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone, drop your weapons!” Schlatt commanded, his voice cracking. “Let the man speak his demands.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is I think the longest chapter I've written and I felt I had to break it down into 2 parts, so it didn't get too long. Sorry for leaving you guys on a cliff hanger there.</p><p>I'd love to hear if this is anything like what you expected!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Missing Puzzle Pieces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The festival continues</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Tommy, no!” Tubbo struggled against Techno’s grip trying to get to his friend, but Techno was just so much stronger and easily held him in place. He threw the man a pleading glare, “Techno, please let me go!” Techno continued to gaze at the scene unfolding at the back of the crowd and kept quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo followed his gaze and watched as Tommy completely fell apart in Wilburs grip. The blonde’s eyes were clenched shut, tears streaking across his cheeks. He was gasping for breath, unable to breathe with the blade already cutting into his skin. He was terrified of taking a breath and the blade slipping further than just his skin. He tried to grip the sword and push it away, slicing his hands in the process, but Wilbur grappled with him for a second and pulled his hands behind his back and held them there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The color was quickly draining from his face, being replaced by an unnatural tinge of blue, since he was barely breathing. Wilbur didn’t even take notice of his distress, even going as far as mocking him for shaking the way he did. When Tommy just choked out a sob, he laughed maniacally in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want Wilbur?”, Schlatt called out to him, trying to keep the stress out of his voice. Wilbur chuckled, “What do I want? I think you know exactly what I want Schlatt.” His lids lowered menacingly. The look on his face spoke nothing but madness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You took everything from me Schlatt. My land, my nation, my people”, he nodded towards the crowd of shocked onlookers. “And then you take away </span>
  <em>
    <span>my boys.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And you ask me what I want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt couldn’t believe his fucking ears. Was that really what Wilbur thought? That they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> boys? When he’d done nothing than traumatize and damage them. He’d treated them with so little respect no sane person would ever take his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Schlatt I want you to tell the people the truth.” A disgusting smile split Wilbur’s lips. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something was coming and Schlatt knew it. Something he wasn’t going to like.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I want you to admit that you messed with the election.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Schlatt was dumbfounded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What was this about? He’d never even touched the votes for the election. What was Wilbur on about?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Mr. President. Tell ‘em what you did.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s when it finally hit him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur was trying to ruin his reputation. No matter what he did here today nothing would put him on people’s good side. If he demanded to be ruler again no one would accept him in that role. They’d overthrow him faster than he had a chance to even sit down in the throne. No matter his demands he’d turn out the bad guy. So now he was trying to get people to hate Schlatt. And since he had nothing on him he came up with a believable lie. It covered his motives and made Schlatt look like a manipulator.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If that’s what it took for Tommy to be spared he’d do that. He needed to play this lie off believably or Wilbur might just become dissatisfied, so he waited a second as if he was contemplating coming clean. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s true.” Everyone looked at him in confusion, some of them gasping in shock. “I messed with the votes and made myself become the leader. I wanted Wilbur out of his position.” He hung his head to play more into his role.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah that's right everyone! You’re oh so gracious leader is a fraud and I’m here to expose his lies and reveal the truth.” Schlatt couldn’t see the reaction of his citizens, since he’d opted to keep his head low, however he did hear a few hushed whispers. He could decipher none of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I admitted it, now it’s your turn. Let Tommy go.”, Schlatt spoke from where he’d sunk to the floor. The blonde opened his eyes at that, getting ready to run as quickly as he could, when Wilbur loosened his grip. Wilbur felt Tommy shift and tightened his grip instead, prompting Tommy to whine pathetically. “You’re not going anywhere yet, Tommy. I’m not finished.”, the man spat angrily, while the teen began to writhe in pain once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was bad. This was bad. Oh no, this was so very bad. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tubbo was aware of how much Tommy had suffered from the first attack and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to recover from this one if it kept going. He needed to figure out something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to save his friend. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No matter the cost.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But what could he do? He couldn’t overpower Techno. He had no gear on himself, besides Techno could easily just stab him. It would hurt if he died, but at least that would give them less leverage, since he would respawn in a different location. No that wouldn’t work, either. Then they would just hang onto Tommy even more.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He racked his brain over what to do for a minute before he threw another hurried glance up at his captor. “Techno, please you gotta let Tommy go!” The man looked back at him in surprise. “Please, Techno. Take me with you guys. Kill me. Take all my belongings, I don't care! I’ll do whatever you want if you just let him free!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pink haired man shook his head, “I’m sorry Tubbo, I have orders to follow.” Tubbo looked over at Tommy once more, who was looking worse by the second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He just couldn’t let this happen.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “How can you support this Techno? Hasn’t Wilbur traumatized him enough?!”, he yelled, desperate to get any sort of emotion out of the stoic man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed to work, since Techno suddenly looked like he’d been caught very off guard. His brows furrowed as he looked at the kid clutched in his arms. “What? What do you mean traumatized him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was Tubbo’s turn to look confused. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something was off about all this. Did Techno not know?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Don’t you know what happened the day Tommy ran off?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno froze. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That was...true. He didn’t know anything about what happened. He’d never bothered to ask what had made Tommy run away. Wilbur hadn’t given him any details and he’d just taken it at face value. Something was off about all of this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up at the man at the other end of the field and finally caught a glimpse of the boy in his arms. Tommy looked so...</span>
  <em>
    <span>broken.</span>
  </em>
  <span> As if nothing had ever terrified him more. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That wasn’t the Tommy he knew. The Tommy he knew was hot headed and didn’t back down from anything. The Tommy he knew would have sworn excessively and possibly even challenged his captor, saying something like ‘You won’t kill me. You’re too much of a pussy! Yeah! That's right I ain’t afraid of you bitch!’ This was not right. What the hell was going on here.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to question Tubbo and what had actually happened, when he spotted Niki running up behind Wilbur, a shovel gripped tightly in between both her hands like a baseball bat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Uh oh-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“WILBUR, BEHIND YOU!”, he screamed across the field, trying to warn the man, but Wilbur barely managed to turn his head enough to see Niki swing the shovel towards him. With no time to react the shovel connected with a sickening noise and he was out cold. He dropped to the ground limply and Tommy immediately scrambled away from the unconscious man gripping the wound on his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit!”, Techno muttered under his breath. There was no time to think about what he should do. He shoved Tubbo aside and pearled over to the back lines. Niki, who was breathing angrly over the man she’d just knocked unconscious, stumbled back in surprise. He gripped Wilbur and hoisted him over his shoulder,taking 2 crossbow hits to the back and one to the leg, before he threw another pearl and disappeared into the nearby forest.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay its a 3 parter now. I quite honestly wanted to drag this scene out further but it just didn't work, so please take it as it is. A hostage scene ending very abruptly due to unforseen circumstances. Everybody clap it up for Niki. She's absolutely had enough of Wilbur.</p><p>Thanks again for everyones feedback UwU you guys make my day &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Comforting Distance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The aftermath on Manberg's side</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He didn’t hesitate even a second before he ran over to the brown haired teen, pulling him into a tight hug and just holding him close for a couple of seconds. Tubbo hugged him back, clinging onto his guardian tiredly and shoving his face into the man’s shoulder. Schlatt gently patted him on the back and pushed him back to arm’s length by the shoulders, making sure not to grab him too tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”, he asked, sounding a little more distressed than he would’ve liked. Tubbo shook his head in reply, “I’m okay. He didn’t do anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Didn’t do anything’ my ass. He held you hostage.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Schlatt thought sourly and pulled the kid in for a second hug, which was interrupted by a shriek coming from the back lines and a bunch of distressed exchanges between various people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt looked over at the commotion and saw Tommy on the floor on all fours, clutching at his neck. Blood was pooling in his hand and dripping down his arm, while he shuddered and coughed. He let out pained sobs while the crowd around him all gave each other helpless looks. Bad was the first one to take initiative, taking a step forward, “Tommy are you okay? Let me look at that.” He put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, who instantly flinched and crumbled in on himself. He covered his head with his hands and made himself as small as he could while whimpering desperate pleas, “Please, please, please, don’t take me. Don’t touch me. Please, please, please please-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad stepped back, unsure of what to do. He’d seen the neck wound but he wasn’t sure how bad it was so he wanted to look at it to make sure it wasn’t anything bad, but he couldn’t even approach Tommy in this state without his begging cries becoming louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon seeing Tommy react the way he did Schlatt sprinted over to the blonde, only slowing down at the last few steps. Very gently he came closer, one step at a time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five steps left. “Hey Tommy, it’s me Schlatt.” Tommy didn’t respond, he only whimpered and wailed further, his hand digging into his own hair for comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Four steps left. “Wilbur is gone now and I am approaching you.” He wanted to be sure that Tommy knew what was going on without needing to look around. Tommy flinched at the footstep but nothing more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three steps left. “Everyone besides me is at least 5 steps away. It’s just you and me bud.” The boy became slightly more quiet and his hands unclenched, the color returning to his knuckles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two steps left. “I’m going to sit down in front of you. You’re going to be okay Tommy. You’re not in danger anymore. I’m here now.” He slowly lowered himself in front of him wanting to reach out but knowing better he didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One step left. He scooched the last half of a step forward, leaving a bit of space between him and Tommy. He didn’t want to make him feel caged. “I’m here to help you. And I know you’re going to be okay. I’m not going to touch you without your permission, so if you’re okay with me touching you please reach your hand out to me.” It took a lot of silent patience, before the teen finally started to lift a shaky hand above his head, holding it very close to himself. Schlatt slowly reached out and took hold of Tommy’s hand, squeezing it gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good, you’re doing good.” Schlatt waited patiently for a couple of seconds, giving Tommy the chance to process and decide if he was still okay with being touched. Schlatt was ready to continue giving him easy to follow instructions, but Tommy very, very slowly began to untangle himself. He never lifted his gaze from the ground and never stopped quietly sobbing, but he practically fell into Schlatt’s arms on his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gripped handfuls of the fabric on the man’s back and cried into his shoulder. Schlatt just held him and refused to let go. It didn’t matter that his suit was wet from all the tears. It didn’t matter that was blood staining his pants, from where it was dripping from Tommy’s neck. It didn’t matter that he was holding on so tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, one of those actually did matter.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Schlatt repeated his pat on the back he’d done to Tubbo earlier and spoke softly, “Tommy can you let me check on your neck? I just want to make sure it’s nothing fatal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d expected the teen to be a bit less willing to let go but instead he just nodded weakly and loosened his grip. Schlatt once again held him at arm’s length and put a finger under his chin, pushing up just enough for him to be able to see the wound on his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was nasty. It looked like during his fall Wilbur’s blade had slipped out of his hand in an unfortunate way and sliced further than Wilbur had intended. However it was nothing fatal, as long as they treated it now. Still he drew in a sharp breath, before letting go of Tommy’s chin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone have any medical supplies on them?”, he asked into the round of people surrounding them. “I have some on me”, Skeppy replied and began to shuffle around in his backpack. When he found what he was looking for he stepped forward but was cut short by Schlatt holding up a hand to stop him. “Throw it please.”, Schlatt stated instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He caught the box of supplies and set it down on the ground. Skeppy was confused but quickly caught onto Schlatt’s preventative measure. He was trying to stop anyone from getting too close to Tommy at the moment. That way they could prevent any unnecessary panic attacks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt quickly, sanitized the cut and bandaged it, letting Tommy fall back into his arms. Just like on that night when he’d had a fever dream he picked the blonde boy up and just let him rest in his arms. And just like that night Tommy passed out within a couple of minutes. Tubbo trudged up behind him and threw him a concerned glance. The man extended a hand out towards him. The brunette took it eagerly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt squeezed his hand and assured him they’d all be okay. Tubbo didn’t smile. Didn’t speak. Just stared off sadly. Nodding. Schlatt excused himself and asked Quackity to cover for him for the day. The vice president nodded and with that the 3 were off, walking in the direction of their home. It was time for a much needed break.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's the promised comfort :3 I know theres a bunch more angst but cmon, Tommy aint just brushing this off. But he's definetly taking it like a champ!</p><p>I wrote this while I was supposed to be asleep, but idk if I'll have time to write tomorrow so I wanted to put this out there for yall to enjoy UwU</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Some things are broken beyond repair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The aftermath for Wilbur and Techno</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first thing he felt when he awoke could only be described as someone having repeatedly slammed his head into a brick wall and if he could’ve remembered what had happened he might’ve even though that wasn’t far from the truth. Matter of fact was however that he didn’t remember why his head felt like that, nor why he was laying in a bed in Pogtopia. He sat up and spotted Techno in the corner of the room, who upon hearing him shuffle around in the bed looked over at him. “How’s the head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking awful. What the hell even happened? I can’t remember anything.” Wilbur brought his hands up to his aching head and gently massaged his temples, trying to ease the pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t sound good. Not too surprising though, you’re lucky Niki doesn’t have that much strength or that hit would’ve killed you. Do you remember anything regarding the festival?” Wilbur raised an eyebrow at him, not understanding anything of what had just been said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can remember going to the festival and executing our plans but at some point everything just goes blank.” Techno hummed in reply, continuing to fiddle with the axe in his lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s to be expected. Niki kind of hit you over the head with a shovel.” Wilburs head shot up at those words and he stared at Techno angrily. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Silence followed as if that was all he needed to know. Wilbur wasn’t having it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you maybe give me a bit more detail on how the fuck that happened?”, he grumbled, his fury quickly rising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, okay. So, Niki must’ve run off at some point during the festival, because in hindsight, when I was on stage I did not see her in the crowd. When you were done with the first half of your demands she ran up to you and knocked you out cold. I tried to warn you but I didn’t manage to see her in time. I was already too late, so I dropped Tubbo, pearled over to you, grabbed you and pearled away.”, he shrugged. There was nothing more to it really. Or so he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You let him go???”, Wilbur yelled in exasperation. “What the hell was the point of all of that if you’re just going to let your hostage go!” His own screaming made his head ache. He shut up and grabbed it in his hands just wishing that holding it would somehow lower the pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey man, I only have so many hands to carry people with. I might be able to carry two people at the same time but I sure as hell can’t carry an unconscious man, a struggling child </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> also pearl us into safety. As much as you'd like to push the blame onto me for the failure of this mission, you're lucky I managed to get you out there alive.” Techno chuckled. He knew Wilbur was just upset that things didn’t go his way. He didn’t take it personally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"With this killer headache I wish you'd have just let me die and respawn. That would have been so much less painful.", Wilbur groused. He wasn’t joking. Dying to his enemies would have sucked but it would have sucked much less than this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you think they wouldn't have just arrested you and locked you away?" Techno was beginning to get annoyed now. He’d done the best he could in the situation and it felt like Wilbur appreciated none of his efforts. The other man sighed but stayed silent. He didn’t want to admit that he had a point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pig man picked the axe up in one hand and twisted the corner against his index finger, checking the sharpness. “So, how about you fill me in on why Tommy was having a panic attack when you grabbed him?” He continued studying his weapon, not looking up at Wilbur who flinched at the question. Techno still saw the reaction in the corner of his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want me to explain there? I think that’s a pretty normal reaction for someone being held hostage.”, he replied, his voice wavering ever so slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on Wilbur. You’ve known Tommy longer than I have. If it were any other person I would have agreed with you, but even I know that wasn’t a natural reaction for him.”, he let's the axe sink back into his lap and tilts his head knowingly at the other man, who was starting to look more and more aggressive by the second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being nosy Techno! You’re just trying to betray me like everyone else aren’t you!”, he screamed at the pink haired man, the anger within him finally taking over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno stood up and walked over to Wilbur with the axe clutched in his hand. “You think I’d rescue you from imprisonment and then go and betray you? I want answers, Wilbur. I didn’t take 3 crossbow hits to save you, for you to leave me in the dark again!”, the other yelled back, while slightly limping over to the bed. That was the first time Wilbur noticed the bandage tightly wrapped around the other man’s leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m telling you, the things I told you is all there is to it! I’m not withholding any information from you!” Techno scoffed at that and raised his axe to Wilburs chin in warning. “You really think I'm stupid enough to believe that? I’m done playing games Wilbur. I want answers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur stared at him in reply, eyes narrowed and a whide frown across his face. “What? So you can go side with the enemy?”, he narrowed his eyes even further, “Yeah right. If you’re so sure I’ve done something wrong, you can just go and leave right now!” Techno dropped the weapon to his side in utter frustration and growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wilbur I have my suspicions that you've done something I don't agree with and right now I'm giving you your one and </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> chance to tell me what </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> happened, that might convince me that my suspicions really were just suspicions. If you don't I'll just get my info from someone else. But then you're almost sure to lose me as your ally. So take your chance to explain your actions or I will leave indefinitely.” He looked down at the curly haired man with desperation in his eyes. He really wanted nothing more than to finally know what was going on. But Wilbur was being annoyingly stubborn and it was getting more and more difficult to smooth the situation over. If he didn’t take this chance now it would be over completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilburs hands fell into his lap, clenching and unclenching as he bit his lip, staring at the floor and trying to figure out what was the right thing to do. He finally sighed heavily and let his shoulders drop. “I was starting to have issues trusting Tommy. You know him, he’s a loose cannon and he’d already done a bunch of things that majorly screwed me over. I tried to keep him in check but when the festival rolled around I gave him a final chance to prove me he was trustworthy. So I told him not to talk to Tubbo anymore. He ignored my commands. So I tried to keep him under control one final time. He ran away. I tried to follow him but when he got to Schlatt he cried and Schlatt took his side. I had no other choice but to turn around and leave.” He felt the heavy silence in the room after he finished talking. It dragged on for much longer than was comfortable so he finally took a look at Techno who was squinting at him like he was trying to see through him or read his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, which detail are you withholding from me?", he broke the silence, sounding more disappointed than anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHICH DETAILS- TECHNO THERE ARE NO OTHER DETAILS THAT'S IT!”, he began to scream again, immediately regretting that choice, feeling his head pulsate in pain once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bullshit! You and I both know just asking him to </span>
  <em>
    <span>please please stop disobeying</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t traumatize the kid. What did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They began aggressively yelling over each other getting louder with each sentence trying to drown the other one out. Wilbur insisted that it didn’t matter what he did and Techno reminded him that this was his only chance to explain himself. When his head felt like it was about to explode from the pressure he finally caved. “I STABBED HIM!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno stopped mid yell, his mouth slightly agape staring at Wilbur like he’d just dropped a bombshell. Well he had, just not one that he’d expected. He was dumbfounded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur had actually stabbed one of his allies to make them obey. Not to mention that ally being a literal child.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He flapped his hands around wildly, trying to understand Wilburs actions. “That’s so...what?- Just...why??? Why'd you try and stab the kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He wouldn't listen to a thing I said! He was being a brat, like he always was.”, Wilbur explained, his blood boiling beneath his skin, making his hands shake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the best solution you could come up with was to stab him??? Wilbur he's a kid and nonetheless a kid that you seemed to have considered as close as a younger brother. Don't you think stabbing him was a bit far?” Techno just couldn’t understand him. What had gotten into him to take such drastic measures. No sane person could make a conclusion like this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well what the hell else was I supposed to do, words don't get through his thick skull!”, he continued to yell, not seeing the irony in those words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No wonder Tommy ran away from you and into the hands of the enemy for safety. You pursued him like a mad man with your only intention being to hurt him to the point where he’d lose his free will. You wouldn't just let that slide either if someone did that to you! If you hadn't tried to torture him into submission maybe he'd still be here. Did that ever occur to you? You’re a man of wits Wilbur, I know you could’ve come up with a better solution than violence. That’s such a me thing to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur was silently fuming. He wasn’t even really listening to what the other had to say. He told himself that no matter what Techno had to say he was wrong. Wilbur knew he was in the right, nothing could change his mind. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO JUST BETRAY ME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE THEN JUST GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" he yelled and pointed to the exit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was not going the direction Techno had hoped at all. He had the answers he’d asked for but Wilbur didn’t seem to see anything wrong with his actions and at this point he wasn’t sure if he could still convince the man. "Wilbur I've been 100% on your side this whole time about overthrowing the government but what you did with Tommy just wasn't right. I'm not trying to backstab you, I’m trying to make you understand that you fucked up." Wilbur didn’t look at him. He just stared off to the side, going suddenly quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You just don't understand." Wilbur replied, sounding more mad than ever. "Philza would understand- He'd be proud of me! None of you understand! Just get out!" Techno was taken aback by those words. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There had to be a way to set this right.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wilbur I don't think Phil-", he started but Wilbur cut him off with another angry yell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GET OUT!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused. His head was rushing to think of something to do but nothing he could say was going to change Wilbur’s mind. He was out of options. This alliance was dead. So he slowly stood up and walked over to the exit, still racking his brain for a solution every step of the way. Nothing came. When he reached the exit he turned to look at Wilbur one final time, who had let his head sink into his hands and spoke his final words of goodbye, "You gotta come to your senses, man."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Everything is wrong right now. Techno really tried his best but Wilburs too far gone and he isnt having any of it.<br/>I tried to make their argument as dynamic as possible :3</p><p>Thanks again for all the comments on the previous chapters &lt;3 keep em coming, I love hearing your thoughts</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. The one and only</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Schlatt is tired and Techno wants answers.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Figuring out which of the houses was Schlatt’s was easy. Schlatt was actually quite a talented builder when he tried and pretty much everyone was aware of that, including Techno. Not that that was what gave it away. It was actually the tactical placement and design of the house. It was located smack dab in the middle of a bunch of other houses, to 1.) assure people could come for help quickly if something happened and 2.) to give any possible intruders a hard time of getting by the other houses without being spotted. It however left enough space for a garden that was perfect for two kids to play in and was surrounded by enough open fields to give privacy. The house itself was big enough for 3 people and to not feel claustrophobic but also small enough to feel comfortable. Basically the perfect size for its intended purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the protection didn’t help to stop Techno from his goal of reaching the house. He’d already been looking around for a few days. He’d figured out which of the houses was Schlatt’s within the first but the rest he spent calculating when was the best time to approach. Since the house was surrounded by nothing but plains it would be difficult to sneak around without being spotted, so he had to pick the perfect time to drop by. And when the opportunity finally arose he sprinted across the fields and up to the back yard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The plan was to figure out which room Schlatt was in, so he could knock on the window and hopefully convey somehow he was there peacefully and just wanted to talk. That was a lot easier said than done, since it was a 2 story building, so he hoped that Schlatt was on the lower levels somewhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally came around to the last ground level window and swore under his breath when he still couldn’t find Schlatt. Maybe he should’ve waited for another time. He couldn’t just knock, they’d stab him on sight. Or worse if Tommy or Tubbo opened the door he wasn’t sure how they’d react. They’d been put through enough and right now he only wanted to talk to Schlatt, but that was becoming increasingly more difficult by the second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Techno? What the fuck are you doing here??”, a rough sounding voice startled him into spinning around and almost falling over in surprise. A sword was lifted to only a few centimeters away from his face. He immediately lifted his hands in surrender and whispered, “Wait! Don’t stab me, I come in peace!” He looked around frantically trying to see if Schlatt’s half yell had raised any alarms. Nobody seemed to have heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The fuck do you mean you come in peace? You took a kid hostage, helped a war criminal and then you come here, trespassing on my property in full armor and sneaking around my house and then you tell me you come in peace???” Techno looked down on himself. He’d forgotten to take his armor off, so he must’ve looked a lot more threatening than he’d intended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh- I forgot about the armor.”, he grumbled, highly regretting not noticing that before. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now he had to fix this with words. Definitely not his strong suit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay I will admit this looks really bad but please give me a chance to explain myself. I just came here to talk to you.” Schlatt’s eyes narrowed, looking Techno up and down. “I don’t trust you.”, he hissed his eyes full of disgust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely understandable! But please hear me out, I have a proposition.” Schlatt sighed heavily. He looked like he was about to lower the blade but he brought it a little closer to the other man’s face instead and hissed through clenched teeth, “Speak!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m willing to hand over all my weapons and armor to you, if we can just talk. I have parted ways with Wilbur and I'm trying to get answers. You were the only one I felt I could ask.” Schlatt hesitated. While he contemplated the pig man’s words Techno finally got a chance to really look at the man in front of him. Schlatt looked so incredibly tired. Not the type of tired you look when you don’t sleep for a while, although Techno was sure that was part of it, but rather the type of tired when everything is just exhausting and too much is going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He breathed a sigh of relief when the blade was lowered. In response he did as promised and handed over all his weapons and armor, which Schlatt immediately stored away. Techno knew he wasn’t getting those back, but that was on him for bringing them in the first place. Techno would have said that Schlatt relaxed after that but it looked more like the goat man was just too tired to care about anything anymore. Knowing Techno had no gear gave him all the assurance he needed and so he led Techno around to sit inside on the lower floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shot him a warning glare and told him to stay put and then walked upstairs. Probably to make sure Tommy and Tubbo stayed where they were and didn’t interrupt the discussion. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fair enough.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When Schlatt returned he lowered himself onto a chair opposite of Techno, leaned back and crossed his arms. “So, are you gonna explain to me what you’re doing here?” He didn’t sound angry anymore. Just tired. Techno was sure if a potential enemy wasn’t currently sitting in his house he would’ve fallen asleep where he sat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno didn’t even think about what to say and began to talk, “I don’t like you Schlatt.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yikes, was that really the best way he could’ve started that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, that’s one hell of a way to start this conversation. You got any more bombshells like that you wanna drop before we get to the actual talking?” Techno forcefully ignored the reply, trying to get his point across before he accidentally fucked up his chances. “-But I think I may have been on the wrong side.” Schlatt lifted a brow questioningly, “Where did this change of heart come from? I thought you were all for anarchy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno scratched the back of his neck trying to figure out how to word his thoughts, “Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand governments, but the reason I was trying to overthrow you was that 1. Wilbur, Tommy and I are friends and I felt I couldn’t leave my friends hanging. 2. I felt like I could use a little action in my life and 3. because I genuinely thought you were a tyrannical piece of shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt rolled his eyes and hummed, but didn’t say anything and let him continue. “I had sort of a fallout with Wilbur a few days ago. I’ve basically been told nothing about his plans and the things that were going on, so after the festival I demanded he tell me what was going on. And he told me some things that even </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> morally can’t agree with. What I'm trying to say is Wilbur has a screw loose and I don't know for how long he’s been feeding me lies, so I want to know the truth.” Schlatt stared at him with tired eyes and hummed once more. “I’m not sure you’re trustworthy Techno. I don’t want another person spying on me so if I answer your questions is entirely dependent on how much information you can give me and what the questions are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno nodded in understanding, “That’s fine. I get your distrust.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, then tell me what it is you want to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath trying to figure out where to start. Clearly Schlatt wanted background information on what he already knew so he’d have to explain a few things. Going in chronological order for now was probably the best idea, so he started the first time he’d had his suspicions, “Wilbur came back to Pogtopia one night, a sword in hand, his fist bloody and Tommy wasn’t with him. I had no clue what was going on because I’d been gone for most of the day and night. I overheard him yell before he arrived. When I saw him I asked him what had happened and he basically told me that Tommy was a traitor and had run off to you. Maybe for a bribe or something along those lines. That didn’t seem like a thing Tommy would do but I didn’t really question it. In war betrayal lurks behind every corner.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You tell me.”, Schlatt scoffed in reply. He’d had his own fair share of betrayal and he was fully aware of Tubbo having been a spy but after everything that had happened he didn’t want to hold it against the kid. He couldn’t blame him for not questioning it much further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, after that he’s been very...off. He was paranoid of any random noises, kept asking me where I’d been and what I was doing and accusing me of trying to backstab him. He told me that his original plan of blowing up Manburg wouldn’t work because Tommy and Tubbo had probably snitched to you already, but he refused to tell me what his new plan was, up until the festival.” Techno leaned back in his chair, letting his arms drop to his sides. “We stood on top of the tower and right before Tubbo’s speech he told me to pearl down and grab Tubbo. I told him I didn’t know what to think of holding a kid hostage but he just accused me of betraying him again. I put my trust in him that nothing would actually happen to Tubbo, after all the point of a hostage is to leave it unharmed for the most part.” He paused and took a look out the window at the clouded evening sky before continuing, “He never told me he would go to grab Tommy. He never told me more than to hold Tubbo hostage. I followed his command blindly and if Tubbo hadn’t made a comment to me about Tommy having been through enough I probably wouldn’t even have noticed him having a panic attack.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno finally met Schlatt’s eyes again. He looked sort of grim, like an uncomfortable image was replaying in his mind over and over. Techno wanted to move on from this topic to spare Schlatt any ugly memories that might come up, so he continued quickly. “That set off all the alarms for me. So when we escaped and Wilbur woke up I demanded he give me an explanation for what I witnessed. He kept denying everything and honestly I think he might genuinely believe he was in the right. He eventually finally admitted that he stabbed Tommy and he then proceeded to escape. I would have loved to ask for more details but Wilbur got pretty pissed at me for arguing with him and kicked me out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Schlatt’s expression was unreadable. Techno couldn’t have described it in words if he’d tried. The only thing he could clearly see was exhaustion. “So pretty much you know less than I do.”, it was less of a question and more of a statement but he still felt inclined to answer. “I’d assume yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The goat man let his head fall into his hands, which he’d propped up on the table. “Fuck. I was hoping you would have some details on Tommy.” Techno cocked his head in reply. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy has been very out of it ever since he arrived here. He’s clearly got some heavy mental scars and he is having trouble living normally. He seems paranoid to be jumped at every opportunity, constantly on edge. The festival only made things worse. Certain movements and topics send him into a full blown panic attack and only a select group of people can approach let alone help him. We don’t even know what exactly these triggers are and I was really hoping you’d know more about what exactly Wilbur did to him.” Heavy silence settled in the air around them. Neither knew what to say. They were each stuck in their own predicament, not knowing what to do. Although at least Techno was able to confirm that what Wilbur had admitted to was true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he really has been feeding me nothing but lies huh?”, he asked, more to himself than anyone else. He didn’t expect an answer. He got one anyways. “Most likely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno sighed. His eyes wandered around the room, looking pretty much everywhere except directly at the other man. He was afraid of the answer to his next question. “You didn’t actually fake the election, did you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He saw the man look up at him for a second but then turn away as well, “No. Although people are smart enough to be able to tell a lie that doesn’t stop them from suspecting me. It surprises me though that out of everyone you’re the first to fully trust me that I didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt Wilbur would’ve only now brought this up if you really had faked the election. Besides he was the one counting the votes. He had a better chance of rigging it than you did.” He finally lifted his gaze back up to look at Schlatt, who had fully buried his face in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish everyone else would use the same logic. I’ve been dragged in and out of meetings to prove my innocence.” He didn’t want to leave his boys alone for too long and this time he really didn’t trust anyone else to do the job. He’d had important conversations he would normally have in his office, on his front lawn, constantly throwing looks back at the house to make sure Tommy and Tubbo were okay. Not to mention the frequent breakdowns Tommy would have. They always required his full attention and as much as he wanted to be there to help him through, it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay awake enough to help out. Tubbo was a lot easier to handle since he seemed to be okay for the most part, but Tubbo hid a lot of his problems. As much as one might think that was a thing Tommy would do, Tubbo seemed to be pushing his own needs aside to be there for his friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Schlatt never said any of that out loud. He couldn’t admit to just how much the situation was wearing him out. He knew the only thing that would let him rest easy was if Wilbur was finally stopped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who knew when that would happen.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“It probably doesn’t help much but at least you’ve got one enemy less going against you now.”, Techno broke the following silence hopefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as Wilbur is still out there nothing will settle my mind.” And Techno understood that all too well. Wilbur was becoming a danger to everyone including himself and there was only really one person who had any hope of talking some sense into him. “Wait! That’s it!” Schlatt flinched at the sudden outburst unsure of what to make of it. “Whats what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s exactly one person left whose opinion Wilbur actually cares about. If I can get him to come talk to Wilbur he might just be able to change his mind and bring some sense into him.” Schlatt still looked suspicious but there was a hope in the back of his mind. A kind of hope that led him to believe any chance they had at fixing this was worth taking. “Who’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno grinned finally locking eyes with the man across the table. He knew there was an actual chance this could work out somehow so he replied with confidence, “Philza.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Boys I won't lie, this chapter feels OOC. I was having a lot of trouble writing it but I tried my best. I hope I can make the follow up chapters better than this one.</p><p>Forgive me if this chapter is shit and took ages to write ;-;</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The stars are like glitter - sprinkle some more</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>By the time their talk was finished the sun had already set. Schlatt tiredly clung onto the sliding door for their backyard, while letting Techno out. He’d offered him his gear back but Techno had surprisingly politely declined, saying Schlatt would probably end up needing it more, considering his current situation and that he could just get some more. While all of those things were true his real intention was to gain a better relation to Schlatt. No matter how well the conversation between them might have gone, no matter if they were both fighting the same enemy, Techno was sure any extra trust he could gain would be a good help in the future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without much more exchange between them Techno took off across the plains, disappearing into the dark. When Schlatt finally couldn’t see him anymore he slid the glass door closed and began to trot up the stairs. He was beginning to feel a little wobbly, so he slid his hand along the wall to keep himself upright while taking one step at a time. His limbs were heavy, as if they were filled with concrete and his eyes were already drooping shut. It was finally starting to hit him how exhausted he really felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In his mental slouch he entered his bedroom and completely overlooked the two teens scooched together in his desk chair in the back of the room, who upon his entrance perked up and turned their heads to face him, only to see him stroll up to the bed, fall down onto it and immediately pass out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy looked over at Tubbo, who was crouching on the chair next to him. “That talk with Big T must’ve really tired him out.”, he whispered, a light smile cracking his lips. They’d listened in. Of course they did. Normally they would’ve followed Schlatt’s demands to stay upstairs, since they’d already heard his first few talks to people, which by that point they’d deduced as boring business talk but even through the floor, Techno’s voice was unmistakable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they’d figured out Techno was in the house they’d given each other that look. You know, that look 2 friends give each other when they’re surprised, excited and maybe a little bit on edge. Mostly Tommy tho. Even though he hadn’t had any bad run-ins with the man, he wasn’t sure how Tubbo was handling it. He’d thrown his best friend some concerned glances trying to pick up any and all signs that might indicate he was afraid, but Tubbo was entirely indifferent and way more interested in listening in. From where they sat at the top of the stairs they could hear the conversation without being seen. They hadn’t heard everything, partly because some things were just too quiet to pick up from the distance and partly because they showed up late, but they were in time for the important parts. When the conversation seemed to come to a steady end they’d quietly made their way into Schlatt’s bedroom and hunched over the desk, whispering an excited stream of words to one another. Schlatt had really sneaked up on them, but had apparently also neither seen nor heard them upon entering the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He deserves the rest, he was looking tired all day. And yesterday too.”, Tubbo replied, sounding a little guilty. Tommy nodded looking back over at his guardian, that was currently laying face first on his bed, soft snores muffled by fabric. Both of them knew they were part of the reason Schlatt was so exhausted all the time. Neither of them knew what to do about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we could try and make things a little easier for him.”, the blonde pondered, taking a look out of the window and into the dark night sky, laced with bright sparkling lights. His friend hummed in understanding. Tommy could feel the vibration of the hum through their touching shoulders. He didn’t mind it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could try making breakfast tomorrow. That’s a start!” Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. “Tubbo you know I can’t cook for shit!”, he blurted out in a rather loud whisper. He threw a nervous glance over to the man in the bed, but he hadn’t moved an inch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we’ll figure something out. For now, how about we join him?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy might’ve been awful at cooking but for Schlatt he was more than willing to try his best. If Tubbo was there to help he’d do fine. Right?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Yeah, sleep doesn’t sound too bad right about now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a collaborative effort they managed to gently flip Schlatt on his back, somehow managing to not disturb his sleep. When that was finally done they both shuffled under the blankets and laid down on either side of their guardian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo was out quickly and Tommy followed not long after, but before he finally drifted off to sleep he mumbled out a barely audible “Thanks, dad.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just some fluffy sweetness for ya'll :3<br/>Felt like writing some wholesomeness. They all deserve a bit of sleep. Sorry it aint longer, it took a very long time to even come up with a way to write this chapter and it was originally going to be more angst again but it didn't feel right so here's some cavities for you :3</p><p>Also thank you to everyone who commented Philza Minecraft under the last chapter. He's not even made an appearance yet and that was basically 90% of the comment section and it made for some very funny conversations with my friend :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. That last bit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On opposite sides of the Dream SMP, two peoples mornings go very differently.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Schlatt opened his eyes, still feeling a little groggy and stared up at the ceiling. Warm sunlight was streaming in through the window, making the bed extra comfortable. His thoughts were still clouded by sleepiness but at least he didn’t feel exhausted anymore. The fatigue that seemed to slow him down to a crawl had disappeared and instead he felt well rested. He was slowly adjusting to being awake again when a pleasant smell filled his nose. Besides needing to get out of bed anyways he was now also quite curious as to what that smell was, so he pushed himself out of bed and made his way out into the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened the door to Tubbo’s bedroom and saw an empty bed. Not only that but also a bed that looked like no one had slept in it last night. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Uh oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Come to think of it he hadn’t checked on Tommy or Tubbo yesterday before passing out and now he was starting to get worried something might have happened. Worried out of his mind he sprinted down the stairs and came to a sliding holt in the entrance to the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The table was nicely decked out with a very pleasant looking breakfast. Tubbo was putting the finishing touches on it and Tommy was vigorously trying to remove a stain from his shirt. It was quite obvious what they’d done. They’d prepared breakfast, or at the very least tried. Presumably Tommy had done his best to follow any orders that Tubbo was giving but the blonde was famously bad at cooking, somehow always managing to mess something up. Tommy could set a glass of water on fire if left unsupervised in a kitchen. He’d done a surprisingly good job this time around though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s all this about?”, he finally said after taking everything in. Both of them turned around and beamed at him with happy smiles. “We really just wanted to make breakfast today. I thought I could maybe teach Tommy some cooking skills.”, Tubbo replied excitedly. He caught a glimpse of Tommy snickering to himself and then turning back to the sink. Schlatt turned and raised an eyebrow at him, smiling knowingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really?” He was well aware of how much Tommy refused to get any better in the kitchen. It wasn’t that he hated cooking per se. It was really more that he knew he was bad at it and always got frustrated when things didn’t turn out the way he wanted and he knew the chances of Tubbo being able to convince him of learning were rather slim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause knowing Tommy that’s highly unlikely.” Tommy perked up at that, his face turning red he awkwardly strode over to Schlatt, avoiding direct eye contact, while drying his hands on his still stained shirt. He started shoving him in the direction of the table and forced him into one of the chairs. “Sit!”, he said before turning back around to walk to his room, presumably to grab a fresh shirt. Schlatt just chuckled to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He didn’t really need to know what their intention was. He just appreciated the gesture.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>While eating away at his breakfast, which was actually really amazing, he watched the two teens laughing and smiling, while talking excitedly about anything and everything that came to their mind. The way they used to, back before everything went to shit. It was strangely therapeutic. He realized he really only wanted them to be safe and happy and seeing them both like this made him smile contently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For once in a very long time he didn’t worry about anything at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur sat on a cold stone by a campfire at the bottom of the ravine that was Pogtopia. He would have eaten if he wasn’t so busy angrily staring at the flames and cursing the situation he was in. The words of his argument with Techno echoed in his head constantly reminding him that nobody was on his side. He would never admit it but Techno’s words had really gotten to him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was he right? Did Wilbur really make the right choices? Did he maybe mess up somewhere along the way? Maybe Schlatt wasn’t as bad as he-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“God dammit!”, he spit through clenched teeth. He grabbed fistfuls of his own hair, trying to bring himself back to his senses. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. He was right. He’d always been right. Everyone else just didn’t understand.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard someone take a seat maybe halfway down the stairs, a couple meters above him. His own thoughts had probably made him miss the sounds of someone walking down, because he couldn’t remember hearing anyone’s footsteps. He didn’t look up. “What the fuck do you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this is what you’ve been up to.” That was not the voice he’d been expecting to hear. His head snapped up to look at the man addressing him, a smile creeping onto his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phil would understand!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>His smile faltered when he saw the look of disapproval on his father’s face. Wilbur looked back down at his hands, unable to meet the older man’s glare. He stayed silent. He could find neither the words to reply nor the courage to speak up. He was already well aware of where this was going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, when I got a letter from Techno I really thought it was going to be something nice. Maybe an update on how you’re all doing, maybe an invitation to meet up some time. Just a nice letter from one of my sons. Instead I had to read about how my tyrannical middle child has grown hungry with power and almost slaughtered my youngest, in a poor attempt of enforcing obedience.”, Phils voice was harsh, but not angry. Just incredibly disappointed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur continued to say nothing. He picked at his fingernails and scratched at the skin of his arms. He fidgeted and shuffled uncomfortably, not knowing what to do with his hands. He was nervous yet he could feel the anger within himself rising. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He didn’t want to have this conversation. Not with Phil. Not with the man he looked up to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"I honestly couldn't believe it at first. I was convinced someone must be trying to prank me. And yet here we are." Wilbur clenched his fists until his knuckles lost their color. He shook quietly seething with built up hatred. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck! Why was the world always screwing him over. He didn’t care about anyone else, but he didn’t think he could live with Phil hating him too.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "I really thought I raised you better than that." And those words sent him over the edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SHUT UP!”, Wilbur screamed at the floor, still not willing to look at the other. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now he’d gone and done it. He’d said the words that Wilbur didn’t want to hear. He’d given him the confirmation that Phil was disappointed with him. He didn’t want to hear any more. He didn’t want to argue with Phil. Not because he cared about what the other thought. Not because he knew if he tried to explain himself eventually he’d have to admit he was wrong. No, that wasn't it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Phil's face softened from the disgusted glare to a look of concern. Wilbur didn’t see it. He breathed a heavy sigh and continued, ignoring the harsh words, “What happened to you, Wil? Why all this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man in question ground his teeth, boiling with rage. “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! IF YOU’RE JUST HERE TO TAKE EVERYONE ELSE’S SIDE YOU CAN FUCK RIGHT OFF AND LEAVE!” When he didn’t receive a reply he just continued to yell further, “I DON'T WANT YOU HERE PHIL! GO BETRAY ME AND LEAVE ME TO ROT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! HELL YOU KNOW WHAT JUST TELL ME YOU HATE ME ALREADY, SO I CAN FINALLY STOP CARING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF ME. NO ONE GETS IT. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHY I DO THIS! NO ONE IS ON MY SIDE! I DON’T NEED THEM! I DON'T NEED ANY OF THEM!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he was running his mouth. He knew he was giving Phil exactly what he wanted and he also knew he was about to say something he would regret but he was too far in and he couldn’t stop himself anymore. “And I don’t. Need. You.” His angry eyes finally flicked to look up at Phil, who he’d assumed would stare back just as angrily but instead he was met with a look of worry. He could see that his words had stung. Just for a second he could see how Phils heart cracked at his words. That was enough for Wilbur to finally fall apart. He brought his head to his knees, curling in on himself while gripping his hands in his hair. Tears began to slip from his eyes. Tears he didn't know he was holding back. They streaked down his cheeks and fell onto the floor below, staining it with droplets of salty water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just say you hate me and abandon me. Let me lose the last thing I was holding onto so I can finally give up.”, he choked through sobs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He hadn’t wanted to say any of that out loud, but he couldn’t stop himself. The words spilled from his mouth without his consent. His heart finally taking over and setting free all those emotions he’d stashed away neatly, swearing he’d never let them out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A pair of arms wrapped around him, pulling him close and holding him tight. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It hurt. Oh god it hurt so much. Everything he’d done up until this point had been for nothing. He’d lost everything, his nation, his son, his friends and comrades, his home and now the only thing that was left was Phil. And he didn’t want to lose Phil. He didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to admit that all the betrayal had been eating away at him, fueling his hatred with each passing day. But he said it anyway.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Please...don’t leave me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was prepared to be shot down. Prepared to be told he was worthless and that there was no hope left for him. He was prepared to lose what little he had left. Or at least that’s what he told himself, but Phil’s next words caught him off guard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going anywhere, Wilbur. I won’t leave you, son.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Wilbur cried. He cried into his father’s shoulder, holding on for dear life, as if Phil would disappear if he let go. He cried until his tears ran dry. And Phil was there for all of it, holding him and whispering reassuring words.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to write a bit more fluff but I also couldn't write quiet enough for one chapter alone, so I decided to finally write Phil talking to Wilbur. I haven't seen much of Phil yet but I hope that the lines of dialog I gave him were good enough.</p><p>My plan has from the start been to take everything away from Wilbur until he had nothing left and maybe then give him a redemption arc. And that low point has finally been reached, so I felt it was time to make him break.</p><p>Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think :3 Have a good one!<br/>(PS: I think I will write a few more things before I call it a day so this is not the end of the story yet UwU)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. What you deserve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It all comes to a close</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Phil had thought about it for a couple of days, while doing his best to get Wilbur back on track and mentally stable. He’d been trying to implement a sense of normality and routine into his life again, but having to do so in a cold, empty ravine was more than difficult. Eventually he finally made up his mind and decided it would be better to pull his son as far away from everything going on as possible and was planning to take him back to his own house in the far away lands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur had been more than hesitant to agree to that idea. As much as he agreed it would be better he didn’t want to leave his friends behind, but Phil assured him that once he was in a better mental state he could come back for his friends. It still didn’t feel right to just up and disappear so Wilbur practically begged Phil to let him say goodbye to everyone as well as wholeheartedly apologize. It tugged on Phils heartstrings to shoot Wilburs idea down, because he wasn’t sure confronting everyone would be the best course of action. Instead he proposed Wilbur write letters to everyone and then they could go and drop them off in one bulk before they left. Wilbur reluctantly agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He crafted each member of the lands an individual handwritten letter, in which he apologized for the specific things he’d done to each person. It hurt to write them, because it required him to admit all his horrible actions to himself and it took him a solid week of on and off writing, together with Phil's motivation to finally finish all of them. All except for one. The letter he struggled the most over was also the one he’d tried and failed to write 13 times already. The first half of the crumpled up papers he’d swiped off the side of his desk was discarded due to unnecessary ramblings on Wilburs part. The other half was too stained with teardrops to be legible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy’s letter was going to be the longest. He had the most things to apologize for, however in the end Tommy’s letter ended up actually being the shortest. Writing out each and every horrible action he’d committed, each time he’d insulted Tommy, each time he’d mistreated him and especially all the times he’d become violent with him, were not things he particularly wanted to remind the teen of. He eventually settled on just apologizing for everything at once. Acknowledging that he’d done awful things and that he hoped that one day he could forgive him, but if Tommy didn’t then Wilbur would understand. He deserved nothing less.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phil had really wanted to drop the letters off on his own and just pick Wil up from Pogtopia once he’d returned but he didn’t want to leave him on his own and didn’t want to deny him the right to see his former home one last time before he left. So when they walked through Manberg he was surprised to see Wilbur keeping his head fixated on the floor. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good thing he didn’t try to apologize face to face to everyone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Wilbur thought to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’d have fallen apart on the spot if he did.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He was already feeling hyper aware of all the eyes that threw shocked glares at him as he walked by and the quick fall of footsteps speeding away from him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’d made these people afraid of him. He’d made HIS people afraid of him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He understood why they were avoiding him or giving him death stares. After all he deserved nothing less.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were walking past the big open field in the middle of which Schlatt’s house was located, when Phil heard a familiar voice let loose an excited scream. “PHIL!”, he heard Tommy scream at the top of his lungs. He turned his head towards the call and saw Tommy sprinting towards him at full speed while Schlatt tried to grab Tommy by his shirt, but failed to catch him in time. “Tommy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde teen had crossed the distance between them in 5 seconds flat and practically slammed into Phil, with his arms already reaching out to hug him. Phil too wrapped his arms around the teen and balanced out the impact trying to keep them both from falling over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw Phil, you would not believe all the crazy shit that’s been going on!”, Tommy began to ramble off about how many things had happened since the last time they’d seen each other, seemingly speeding up with each sentence, when he finally pushed the older man to arms length he looked up for the first time and caught a glimpse of Wilbur standing nervously behind him. He looked disheveled and nervous as he was frozen in place staring at the boy he’d caused so much harm. Tommy abruptly cut off and took a step away from them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur’s heart twisted painfully in his chest. Seeing Tommy so happy and excited had made him wonder if maybe none of this was real and Tommy wasn’t actually horrified by him. He wished so deeply to hold the teen in his arms and apologize incessantly, but seeing Tommy step away from him cautiously broke his heart. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He deserved it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I ask what you’re doing here?”, a slightly angry and out of breath Schlatt said, finally catching up to them with Tubbo hot on his heels. Phil looked back at Wilbur who was frozen in place staring at Tommy who also didn’t dare to move. Phil knew there was no way Wil would be able to explain himself on his own so he took the lead. “Don’t worry he’s not going to do anything. We’re just here to drop off these letters and then we’ll be off.”, he pulled a thick pile of envelopes from his bag. Each one with it's own unique name written in careful letters. He held them out to Schlatt who hesitantly took them from his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?”, Tubbo asked from behind Schlatt, seemingly a lot more calm about the situation than anyone else. “Oh yeah, I’ve decided to take Wil with me for a while, to help him get into a better mental state. I thought it would be beneficial to be away from everyone for a while.” At those words Tommy finally shifted his gaze from Wilbur to Phil and then nervously back to Wilbur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every word of what had been said fizzled past Wilburs ears like muffled static. All he could see was his little brother, who looked so small in comparison to his usually confident self. His eyes were locked with his own and filled with a terror Wil never thought he’d find in a boy like him. A lump was forming in his throat and his eyes began to water. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to the boy he’d considered family for so long. To hold him and apologize for everything he’d done but he didn’t dare step any closer to him, in fear of having to see Tommy retreat from him, with that same terror in his eyes, that he’d had back when Wilbur was chasing him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t stop himself from taking a step back. “I’m sorry...”, he whispered, tears now falling freely while his eyes stayed fixated on the blonde teen. Tommy let out a strangled sigh and searched for a reply that fit his emotional turmoil. He’d always looked up to Wilbur as a sort of older brother, but right now he was afraid. Afraid of what Wilbur could do to him if he came too close. He knew Wilbur had probably realized his mistakes and there was no doubt in his mind that the older man truly was sorry for what he’d done, but Tommy couldn’t find it within himself to forgive him. Not now, when he could still feel the pulsating scar on his neck. Not now when he could still feel the ghost like grip on his arms, refusing to let him go. Not now when he could still hear his name being screamed while he was chased away by the only person he thought he could trust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”, he breathed, barely audible. He could say nothing more than that. Phil could feel the rising tension between his two children and wanted to move on as quickly as possible. “I think it’s time Wilbur and I get on our way, otherwise we’ll be travelling through the night and I’d like to avoid that. Tommy, there's a letter in that pile for you too, you should read it when you’ve got the time.” He smiled gently at the blonde boy and ruffled his already messy hair. Tommy gave him a sad frown, signaling he wasn’t ready for Phil to leave yet, so he continued, “I’ll come visit you when the time is right. How does that sound?” Tommy only nodded in reply. That was all Phil needed to draw the ending line to this conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave Tommy a loving hug, eventually letting Tubbo join in on the embrace, thanked Schlatt for his time and efforts, asking him to pass the letters out to everyone as soon as possible and then draped a wing over Wilburs back and led him away and out of his former nation into the lands beyond.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had already been walking for a while when Phil finally broke the heavy silence between them. “He’ll come around to forgive you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think so?”, Wil replied weakly, unsure if he could really trust that assessment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure of it Wilbur. If you work to better yourself and show him that you’ve left all of this in the past, then you deserve nothing less.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur laughed quietly. It was a hollow laugh, but it was the closest to a real one he was going to get anytime soon. “Thanks dad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phil stopped and held his arms out for Wilbur, offering him a loving embrace, which he took without hesitation. “Any time, son.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Boys I hope you enjoyed this fic. I was orginally planning to write at least like 3 more chapters to this fic but this last chapter has taken me ages to write and I feel this is a good closing point. Tommy, Tubbo and Schlatt are okay and now that Phil has taken Wilbur away maybe Schlatt can finally get some sleep. It will probably take years to heal, for both Wilbur and Tommy but they'll be okay eventually.</p><p>Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this fic, I loved reading everyone's comments :3 Hopefully I can get around to some more writing in the future, but until then I wish you all a wonderful day/night. &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109624">Nightmare</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolentVioletEye/pseuds/ViolentVioletEye">ViolentVioletEye</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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